An Oregon woman who abused her employer’s credit card to gamble at a California casino has lost a bid to undo her guilty plea in a $300,000 embezzlement case.
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 4 that Traci Lynn Marang’s attorney had acted reasonably when he advised her to plead guilty without first hiring a forensic accountant to examine the company’s finances.
Marang worked as comptroller for Precision Electric, a Medford, Ore., electrical contractor. This gave her access to its bank accounts, credit cards, and payroll system.
Between April 2018 and February 2019, she used company funds for personal purchases and unauthorized payments, according to prosecutors. An investigation by the company and an outside accounting firm identified more than $300,000 in fraudulent transactions.
These included clothing, jewelry, makeup, furniture, concert tickets, hotel stays, and multiple Apple Watches. Investigators also identified unauthorized salary and bonus payments.
Casino Cash Advances
According to the newly published appellate opinion, Marang also used a company credit card to obtain numerous cash advances for gambling at Rain Rock Casino in Siskiyou County, California.
Prosecutors there were considering separate charges in relation to the casino transactions, according to court documents. The ruling does not specify how much money Marang obtained at the casino.
Marang admitted stealing more than $100,000, but insisted that some transactions were authorized. She also claimed that using company credit cards for personal spending was common among employees.
Her lawyer reviewed unredacted credit card statements but found no evidence of anyone spending remotely comparable amounts.
In September 2021, Marang pleaded guilty to identity theft, four counts of aggravated first-degree theft, and falsifying business records. She was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $310,150 in restitution. Her plea agreement also resolved the California case without additional jail time.
‘Everyone Did It’
Marang later challenged her conviction. She argued that if her original lawyer had consulted a forensic accountant, it may have established that some expenses were legitimate, which may have led to her rejecting the plea deal and standing trial.
But the appeals court noted that Marang faced as much as 14 years in prison on the aggravated theft charges alone because of her previous financial theft convictions.
The judges concluded that her admissions and the documentary evidence gave her attorney sound reasons to recommend the deal. They also upheld the lower court’s refusal to compel further accounting records.
The decision leaves the earlier judgment undisturbed.
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