Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General | https://www.justice.gov/
Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General | https://www.justice.gov/
A woman from Toledo, Iowa, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing over $450,000 from a family-owned business. Leann Marie Rouse, 51, pleaded guilty on May 31, 2024, to one count of wire fraud.
Rouse was employed as a bookkeeper for a trucking company in Traer, Iowa starting in July 2011. Evidence presented at her sentencing revealed that between January 2015 and August 20, 2020, she issued approximately 242 unauthorized checks to herself. The total amount stolen was at least $453,672.68. To conceal the thefts, Rouse manipulated the company's financial accounting software to falsely record these funds as legitimate business expenditures.
The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand in Cedar Rapids. In addition to her prison term of 24 months, Rouse is required to pay restitution totaling $453,672.68 and will serve three years of supervised release following her incarceration. The federal system does not offer parole.
Rouse remains free on bond but must report to the Bureau of Prisons on an unspecified date.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tama County Sheriff’s Office with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorneys Dillan Edwards and Devra Hake.
Further information can be accessed through court file number 23-CR-00023-LTS at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
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