Bookkeeper sentenced to prison in nearly $1 million theft from South MS doctor
A former bookkeeper for a Hancock County physician and his associated companies is headed to federal prison for 57 months after pleading guilty to wire fraud for stealing nearly $1 million.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola on Tuesday ordered the bookkeeper, Bobbie Jean Margiotta, 65, of Diamondhead, to pay $928,988 in restitution.
According to court records, Margiotta stole the money from the physician and his associated companies over a seven-year period.
The victim was identified in court documents by his initials, “J.R.,” along with the initials of his associated businesses.
Margiotta began stealing the money shortly after she started working for the physician in May 2015 and continued to do so through 2022.
To carry out the crime, the records say, Margiotta wrote checks to herself using her maiden name, B.J. Simmons. She also wrote checks payable to her husband’s credit card business and to a Mississippi corporation she created, identified as the now-defunct B.J. Simmons LLC.
She covered up the theft by altering the companies’ bank statements.
Margiotta deposited the stolen money into bank accounts in Mississippi and Louisiana. Some deposits were made in person, while others were made through online banking services, resulting in a federal charge of wire fraud.
She remained employed by the businesses until January 2022.
Despite stealing nearly $1 million, Margiotta qualified for a court-appointed attorney based on her income and expenses.
During her initial appearance following her arrest last year, she said she had about $45 in a savings account and about $25 remaining in a checking account after paying her bills.
Margiotta will begin serving her sentence after receiving instructions from the Federal Bureau of Prisons on where and when to report.
A federal charge of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner prosecuted the case in federal court in Gulfport. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
