A former financial executive with an international maritime company must serve five years in a U.S. prison for embezzling nearly $4.7 million.
Kathleen Creel of New York City was sentenced Friday in Houston and ordered to repay Wilhelmsen Ships Service Inc.
Prosecutors said Creel in February pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud from her employment with Norway-based Wilhelmsen.
Investigators said Creel, from mid-2003 through August 2009, worked for Wilhelmsen and a predecessor company in Pasadena, near Houston. She was the company's customs and tax manager and had access to billing records and bank accounts.
Prosecutors said Creel created false vendor invoices, made sure the funds were approved and then wired the money from a company bank in New York to her personal account.
