HORSHAM, PA — The former financial controller of a Horsham-based global management company is being charged by the federal government with wire fraud and tax evasion connected to an alleged scheme to embezzle more than $1.8 million from the business.
Donna Laansma, 57, of Fairless Hills, Bucks County, was charged by criminal information Wednesday in connection with the embezzlement and for failing to report the fraudulently obtained earnings to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Laansma formerly worked as financial controller of Astea, a worldwide company based in Montgomery County that specializes in software management. In her role, Laansma managed the company’s finances across the globe.
“This defendant allegedly swindled almost two million dollars from her former employer, covering her tracks so well that her fraud was only discovered when the company was acquired,” U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in a statement. “Instead of doing the right thing and performing her job honestly as the company’s controller, she chose the greedy path. Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect innocent individuals and businesses from being victimized by financial fraud.”
The allegations against Laansma say she obtained a corporate credit card that she kept hidden from senior management and that between November 2014 and November 2020 she used the secret card to spend more than $1.8 million on personal expenses including her son’s college tuition, personal bank account payments, vacations, furniture, food, gift cards and other miscellaneous items like shoes.
Laansma is also being charged with using her financial controller position to pay down company credit card bills and falsely reporting the payments and legitimate business expenses in company books.
The feds say that the scheme was discovered in 2020 after Astea was acquired by another global software company.
Laansma, who was also a Certified Public Accountant, is additionally being charged with failing to report all of her extra income as earnings on her federal tax forms.
“When you dip into funds entrusted to you, that don’t belong to you, and spend those monies without authorization, it’s called theft,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said in a statement. “And it doesn’t matter if you are a store clerk, a CPA, or a bank robber, thievery is illegal at every level. In this case, the defendant allegedly stole nearly two million dollars to fund a lifestyle to which she was not entitled. And what she has earned are felony charges that will influence her life for years to come.”
Laansma was charged via criminal information, which differs from an indictment in that it does not involve the use of a grand jury.
According to charging documents, Laansma began working for Astea in November 2009.
Court records at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania show that Laansma has been scheduled for a formal arraignment and plea hearing on March 31 before U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson.
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