Winchester bookkeeper admits to defrauding Lexington client of $363K

LEXINGTON, KY--In a plea agreement filed on January 23, Irene Michelle Fike, represented by attorneys from Baldani Law Group, entered a guilty plea to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Fike admitted to engaging in fraudulent activities from 2016 to 2021, initially as an employee at an accounting firm in Winchester, Kentucky, and later as an independent contractor for a client identified as J.M. The plea agreement outlines that Fike had access to J.M.'s financial information, including bank accounts and credit card details, and used this information to make unauthorized transactions for her own benefit. She misused funds from J.M.'s accounts to pay her personal credit card bills and made unauthorized purchases using J.M.'s credit cards, totaling a loss of $363,657.67 to J.M.

To conceal the fraud, Fike manipulated QuickBooks reports to avoid suspicion from J.M.'s family members who occasionally reviewed these reports. As per the plea agreement, the statutory punishments for the counts include a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and a fine for the wire fraud count, and a two-year imprisonment term to run consecutively for the identity theft count. Additionally, Fike is obligated to pay restitution of $363,657.67 to J.M. and consented to a forfeiture money judgment of the same amount.

Fike's sentencing is scheduled for May 15, 2024, before Judge Gregory F. VanTatenhove in the Eastern District of Kentucky. She remains on conditional release as per the order setting conditions of release, and has agreed to cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney's Office, including providing a complete financial disclosure.

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