North Carolina woman sentenced to federal prison for stealing from SETX organization, ordered to pay over $800,000 in restitution

BEAUMONT — A Raleigh, North Carolina woman has been sentenced to federal prison for violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

Tahshyria Allen, 31, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen money and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on Aug. 29.

Allen was also ordered to pay $817,479.39 in restitution to the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC).

According to information presented in court, in September 2022, a hacker compromised the SETRPC email account, stole emails and invoices, and impersonated a legitimate contractor’s billing agent. The hacker altered bank routing information on the contractor’s invoices so that when SETRPC attempted to pay the legitimate contractor, the funds were diverted from the contractor’s account to a bank account belonging to Allen in North Carolina. As a result, Allen fraudulently received more than $800,000 to which she was not entitled.

After the fraud was discovered, federal agents were able to recover more than $400,000 from Allen’s accounts.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.

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