DALLAS — A law firm controller who admitted to inflating her payroll was sentenced to federal prison after she admitted to stealing nearly $1.48 million from her employer. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced 44-year-old Christiane Kathleen Irwin, who pled guilty to wire fraud, to 50 months in prison.
She was also ordered to pay $1,483,008.56 in restitution. According to court documents, Irwin, who worked for a law firm and was responsible for submitting payroll each week, falsely inflated her salary, which was set at $140,000 annually, not including bonuses, some as high as $50,000.
Unknowingly, the law firm’s payroll vendor would transfer her fraudulent payroll submission from the firm’s bank account into Irwin's bank account every two weeks, court documents show. From 2019 to 2021, Irwin took home about $1.48 million in fraudulently obtained funds.
Officials say she used these funds to enhance her lifestyle, including the purchase of a luxury vehicle and multiple vacations. The name of the law firm Irwin worked at was not immediately released. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation.
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