logo
Northwest Florida sisters sentenced to federal prison for embezzling over $844k from local business

Northwest Florida sisters sentenced to federal prison for embezzling over $844k from local business

Yahoo23-05-2025

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Two sisters convicted of charges stemming from embezzling their employer's money face time in federal prison.
Truck and dump truck crash head-on in Mobile; man critically injured
According to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Florida, Kimberly Lovitt, 52, of Pace, was sentenced to 36 months, while her sister, Amy Williams, 46, of Milton, was sentenced to 18 months.
The two were convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns, the release said.
'Abuse of trust, embezzlement and tax evasion warrant significant criminal consequences,' Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Michelle Spaven said. 'The defendants' years-long theft from their employer and the extreme efforts to conceal their criminal proceeds are both illegal and offensive to all hardworking Americans, especially those who own and operate local businesses.
'It is fitting and proper that they are not only incarcerated, but that they pay restitution and unpaid taxes for their criminal conduct.'
According to the release, the embezzlement began in 2016 and continued until 2021.
During that time, Lovitt conspired with Williams to embezzle more than $844,000 from their employer, a locally owned business in Pensacola.
Lovitt was the office manager, and Williams was the receptionist, the release said. The two used their positions to steal money from the business by using corporate credit cards for unauthorized personal purchases, the release said.
Lovitt used her position to create false documentation and manipulate accounting records to cover up their crime. She also failed to report the embezzled money as income on her federal income taxes, the release said.
'The defendants' theft through embezzlement caused great financial strain on their employer and put other employees' jobs at risk,' Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge at the Tampa Field Office, said.
'The sentencings today serve as an example of what individuals can expect when they lie, cheat and steal and then try to hide the ill-gotten gains from the IRS.'
Gulf Shores makes history with first-ever commercial flight to Alabama's beaches
The Emerald Coast Financial Crimes Task Force, which included officers from the Pensacola Police Department and agents from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit, investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Tharp then prosecuted.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The entirely predictable Trump-Musk divorce threatens Musk's business empire
The entirely predictable Trump-Musk divorce threatens Musk's business empire

Yahoo

time15 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

The entirely predictable Trump-Musk divorce threatens Musk's business empire

Elon Musk's decision to go all in on Donald Trump never made much sense. His scorched-earth approach to breaking up with Trump is even harder to square. As a close Trump ally, Musk's actions inevitably affected Tesla – the biggest piece of his business empire and the maker of one of the most visible and expensive items that Americans can purchase: electric vehicles. First, Musk turned off Tesla's core customers, Democrats on the coasts, by pouring money and using his influence to help Trump return to the White House. Then he took a chainsaw to the federal workforce. Trump confirmed their relationship has soured, with Musk repeatedly blasting the president's sweeping domestic agenda bill in recent days and a public fight on social media on Thursday. Now, Musk's war of words with the president risk turning off the same Trump voters who may have considered buying a Tesla until this week. Not only that, but Tesla's ambitions for self-driving vehicles require government approval, something that no longer looks like a sure thing amid the Musk-Trump feud. Other Musk businesses like SpaceX are built on government contracts – contracts that Trump wasted no time threatening on Thursday. The past 12 months – with Musk marrying himself to the polarizing Trump brand and then breaking up with him – look like a textbook example of what a CEO should not do, especially a consumer-facing CEO. 'It's a bit of a head-scratcher that Musk is going so rogue-negative towards Trump so quickly. It's a potentially very hazardous path,' Dan Ives, a senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities and a longtime Tesla bull, told CNN in a phone interview on Thursday. The Musk-Trump break-up, playing out on the billionaires' respective social media platforms, was both entirely predictable and shocking nonetheless. After Musk blasted Trump's policy bill as a 'disgusting abomination' earlier this week, Trump suggested Musk has 'Trump derangement syndrome.' Musk responded by undercutting Trump's political prowess, saying: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election.' As two of the world's most powerful people continued to trade public barbs, Tesla shares dropped lower and lower. Tesla shares (TSLA) plummeted 14% on Thursday as the bromance between Trump and Musk imploded in front of the entire world. The selloff erased about $152 billion from Tesla's market value and $34 billion off Musk's net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tesla shareholders are dismayed on multiple levels. First, Musk taking on the president so publicly could further shrink the car maker's customer base by angering Trump backers. 'You could end up alienating both sides of the aisle in the course of just a few months. When you're a consumer-facing company, that's the opposite of what you want to do,' Ives said. Secondly, Tesla relies on the federal government for tax credits and for approval of its controversial full-self driving technology, a green light that investors had been hoping for after the election. Neuralink, Musk's brain chip startup, is also reliant on FDA approval. Bigger picture, the Trump administration will help set the regulatory landscape for autonomous vehicles, not to mention artificial intelligence and other Musk priorities. And the president has not been shy about flexing the power of the federal government to hurt his opponents. 'You want Trump nice in the sandbox. You don't want Trump on your bad side,' Ives said. Bill George, an executive fellow at the Harvard Business School and former CEO of health tech company Medtronic, described the recent feud as a 'brutal breakup.' 'Never go to war with the president of the United States,' he said. 'There's going to be a lot of collateral damage to your business.' Trump threatened on Thursday to go after Musk's business empire. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it! SpaceX, Musk's privately held space company, relies heavily on federal contracts, especially from NASA. SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet recently won business from the Federal Aviation Administration to help the agency upgrade networks used to manage US airspace. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, said the lesson is not about CEOs taking political positions. 'The lesson here is that there is no honor among thieves. These are two mob bosses that have had a parting of ways. And now they are going to take each other down,' Sonnenfeld told CNN. Harvard Business School's George noted that Musk and Trump had been acting like 'best bros' just days earlier. 'The lesson here is that you can either work in government or run your business,' George said. 'But you can't do both.' Sign in to access your portfolio

Trump's AI czar says UBI-style cash payments are 'not going to happen'
Trump's AI czar says UBI-style cash payments are 'not going to happen'

Business Insider

time19 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

Trump's AI czar says UBI-style cash payments are 'not going to happen'

Americans probably won't be getting a universal basic income as long as President Donald Trump's AI czar has a say in the matter. David Sacks, the cofounder of Craft Ventures and a member of the so-called " PayPal Mafia," which includes Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, is now a top White House policy advisor for AI. It's an important role as rapid advances in AI bring about generational changes in how the world lives and works. The technology is already reshaping the job market, as chatbots like ChatGPT begin to do the work of entry-level employees. Those at the forefront of the AI revolution have long warned about the risk AI poses to jobs, and have called for a universal basic income to soften the blow. A UBI is a government program that distributes no-strings-attached checks to all residents to spend how they please. Numerous cities and states are already experimenting with its humble cousin, a guaranteed basic income, which distributes checks to specific populations in need. The idea has a long history, and support for these kinds of programs has skyrocketed at the local level in recent years. Any consideration of a basic income at the federal level, however, will likely have to wait. Sacks is not a fan. The AI czar said on X this week that such government "welfare" is a "fantasy." "The future of AI has become a Rorschach test where everyone sees what they want. The Left envisions a post-economic order in which people stop working and instead receive government benefits," Sacks wrote. "In other words, everyone on welfare. This is their fantasy; it's not going to happen." Although reports from recipients who participate in basic income programs are overwhelmingly positive, they have faced political pushback. Last year, Republicans in Arizona voted to ban basic income programs in the state, and similar opposition efforts have gained traction in Iowa, Texas, and South Dakota. Lawmakers in several states have argued that the checks increase reliance on the government and dissuade recipients from working. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman helped fund one of the largest basic income studies, which found, in part, that it encouraged recipients to work harder. Elon Musk, who until recently was the face of Trump's effort to reduce government spending, has said a basic income will likely play a role in future economies as AI continues to rapidly develop. Sacks' comments came as another prominent AI leader, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, called for not just a universal basic income, but a "universal high income" at SXSW in London this week. When asked about AI's impact on jobs, Hassabis said there would be a "huge amount of change," but that "new, even better" jobs could replace affected positions and boost productivity. "Beyond that, we may need things like universal high income or some way of distributing all the additional productivity that AI will produce in the economy," Hassabis said.

Here's how to start investing in your 60s
Here's how to start investing in your 60s

Fast Company

time21 minutes ago

  • Fast Company

Here's how to start investing in your 60s

Standard financial advice starts with the assumption that 40-year-old investment newbies are getting a 'late start.' So what if you're a card-carrying member of AARP without a portfolio? How do you start investing when you're in your 60s? Recently, a family friend reached out for some advice on how to start investing for retirement. At 61 years old, he was afraid it was useless because he had heard the standard tut-tutting about how he should have started earlier. Once I got over my shock at his age (because that means I've reached my late 40s and I have no idea how that happened), I assured him that it's not too late. Just because a lot of retirement math starts with the wonders of compound interest over time doesn't mean your retirement is doomed. Becoming a first-time investor in your 60s may feel scary, but it's the best way to ensure you have a financially secure retirement—unless you can get your hands on some kind of time traveling phone booth. Here's what you need to know about beginning your investment journey long after hitting the big 6–0. Start setting money aside right away And when I say right away, I mean right this minute. Putting money aside for retirement is the kind of important-but-not-urgent task that is very easy to put off, which is why 20% of Americans over the age of 50 have nothing set aside for retirement, according to a 2024 AARP survey. If you already have an IRA, 401(k), or other retirement vehicle, transfer whatever amount you can afford today, and set up an automatic contribution to come out of every paycheck. If you don't already have a retirement account, take a half hour today to set one up with a reputable brokerage like Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Each of these brokerage firms offer retirement accounts, education, and tools for newbie investors. Additionally, each major brokerage has customer service available by phone and online chat that can walk you through the process of opening an account and setting up a recurring contribution. Asset allocation in your 60s Of course, it's not enough to set up your retirement account and your contributions. You will also have to decide how to invest your contributions, which feels a little more complicated in your 60s than it is for younger investors. That's because the traditional advice for retirement investors is to buy-and-hold index funds, allowing time and compound interest to perform their magic on your money. But sixtysomethings don't have the same luxury of time enjoyed by whippersnappers in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Except, that's not necessarily true, is it? The Social Security Administration estimates that a current 60-year-old man has a life expectancy of 80 and a 60-year-old woman has one of nearly age 84—which means investors in their 60s can and should invest some portion of their money for a longer time horizon. Older first-time investors need to allocate their retirement money the same way every investor does—by when they expect to need it. This is often referred to as the bucket method, and is often broken down into three investment buckets. Short-term investments: Since you will use it for living expenses in the first one to five years after you retire, you want this money to be invested in assets that are reasonably stable and liquid. Medium-term investments: This money will provide you with retirement income for years six to 15, so you'll invest it in slightly more aggressive investments that still aim to protect your principal. Long-term investments: You won't plan to touch this money until at least 16 years in the future, so you can afford to invest in higher-risk-higher-return investments, giving you time to ride out market volatility. Put away as much as you can While your future self will be glad for whatever amount you can put aside for retirement today, more is definitely better in this scenario. Luckily, the IRS agrees with the importance of saving for retirement. Contributions to traditional IRA and 401(k) accounts are tax-deductible, meaning the money you put in those accounts lower the amount of your taxable income for the year. The IRS allows the gray-haired set to make tax-advantaged catch-up retirement contributions to IRA and 401(k) accounts. For 2025, the IRA contribution limit is $7,000 for anyone under the age of 50, and $8,000 for anyone over the age of 50. For 401(k) accounts, the contribution limit is $23,500 for those under age 50, $31,000 for anyone between the ages of 51 and 59, $34,750 for those between the ages of 60 and 63, and it drops down to $31,000 to anyone 64 or older, because the IRS is nothing if not confusing. In 2025, if you are… You can contribute this much to an IRA You can contribute this much to a 401(k) Under 50 $7,000 $23,500 50 to 59 years old $8,000 $31,000 60 to 63 years old $8,000 $34,500 64+ years old $8,000 $31,000 Find other sources of investment money If every dollar is spoken for before your paycheck even hits your account, the idea of maximizing your retirement account contributions may feel quaint. So it's helpful to start identifying some other sources of investment money. You may have more cash available to invest than you realize. Check for old 401(k) accounts Once you're blowing out 60 candles on your birthday cake, you likely have multiple careers under your belt, let alone shorter-term jobs you've forgotten about. You may have unclaimed retirement benefits gathering dust. A quick search of the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits can let you know if you've got some retirement money languishing in an old account. See if you have unclaimed funds An estimated one out of every seven Americans is owed unclaimed property totaling $70 billion as of 2023. You can search for unclaimed funds by visiting the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and searching any states where you have lived. Sell things you no longer want or need You probably have a lifetime's worth of accumulated clutter, some of which may actually be worth some money. Cleaning out your stuff to find hidden gems will not only help you pad your retirement accounts, but it will also help you with any downsizing you may want to do before retirement. But DO NOT invest your Social Security benefits If you're looking for other sources of investment money, taking your Social Security benefits as soon as you turn 62 and investing that money may seem like a no-brainer. But it is nothing short of a terrible idea. That's because your Social Security benefits are as close to a financial guarantee as you're going to get in this world. Your Social Security benefits are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government—which, admittedly, has lost a little of its luster and reputation recently. But you can absolutely count on the monthly amount promised to you, the approximate 8% per year delayed retirement credit for waiting to take your benefits, and the annual cost of living adjustment. No investment can promise any of those things. Investing your Social Security benefits means you could lose that money. Taking your benefits as of age 62 means you will lose out on the guaranteed delayed retirement credit of 8% per year. And no investment can guarantee an annual return of 8%, let alone a cost of living adjustment to account for inflation. If you are able to delay taking your Social Security benefits, it is generally best to wait to take them until you have reached age 70 so you can maximize your monthly benefit amount. Other than yesterday, the best time is now There is no point in beating yourself up with coulda-shoulda-woulda thinking if you get started investing later in life. It's counterproductive to ruminate over things you can't change, especially since there's still a lot of good you can do as a 60-something newbie investor. The first thing to do is start right away. If you have a retirement plan, move money into it today and set up a recurring contribution. If you don't, open one with a reputable brokerage firm today, taking advantage of the customer service phone or chat options to help you lower the barrier to entry. Once you have the account and automatic transfer in place, plan your asset allocation. Even though you don't have the luxury of time like a young investor, you can still set up a three-tiered investing strategy. Your short-term, stable investments are for the money you'll need in the next one to five years. The medium-term, slightly more aggressive investments will be accessed in years six to 15. And your long-term, higher-risk, higher-return investments will be left alone until year 16 and beyond. It's important to put aside as much money as you can. If you're able to maximize your 2025 tax-deductible IRA and 401(k) contributions, that will lower your tax burden, which may help you afford the contributions. But you could also look for other sources of investment money, such as searching for forgotten retirement accounts and unclaimed funds, or by selling off some of your accumulated stuff as part of a downsizing effort. But do not use your Social Security benefit as a source of investment money. That's trading a guarantee for a risk.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store