Controller accused in $191K embezzlement scheme from Murrysville firm

A federal grand jury this week indicted the former controller of a Murrysville packaging company, accusing her of embezzling $191,000 over five years.

Victoria Mazur, 51, of Plum, is accused of embezzling the money from Gateway Packaging Corp. between December 2012 and December 2017, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said.

According to the eight-count indictment, Mazur embezzled the money by processing fraudulent refunds through the employer’s point of sale terminal, which is used to process credit and debit card transactions for customers.

“It’s really unfortunate. We’re a small business, and you put your trust in someone for a lot of years, and you turn around and discover something like this was going on,” said Scott Getty, Gateway Packaging vice president and general manager.

Getty said Mazur was hired in 2011 and left in March 2018 “citing health reasons,” he said.

However, Getty said Mazur’s successor discovered the alleged thefts.

Attempts to reach Mazur for comment were unsuccessful.

Brady said in a news release that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years for each count of wire fraud. The law also provides for a fine of $250,000 for each count.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting the case.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service assisted in the investigation of the case, Brady said.