Crime & Courts

Federal charges accuse Fairbanks bookkeeper of embezzling $1.8 million

A Fairbanks bookkeeper is facing federal charges accusing her of embezzling more than $1.8 million from her former employer, a medical provider in the community.

Angelic Henderson, 68, was arrested Friday on 19 charges including bank fraud and money laundering. She was not in custody as of Wednesday.

Henderson, along with another employee described as her co-conspirator, began embezzling money in 2020 from the business where she worked as a bookkeeper, according to an indictment filed last month. Henderson was initially hired in 2015, it said.

The indictment does not name the business from which Henderson is accused of embezzling money. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner identified the company as The Eye Clinic of Fairbanks. An employee at the clinic declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

In total, Henderson is accused of embezzling roughly $1.8 million in more than 368 bank transfers.

Henderson denied the allegations of fraud and embezzlement when reached in July by the News-Miner. She couldn’t be reached for comment this week.

Reagan Zimmerman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage, said she couldn’t confirm the name of the company involved because the office does not “provide the names of victims unless they have been filed on the public docket.”

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Henderson in 2019 began funneling money from the business accounts to her own accounts and those belonging to the co-conspirator, the indictment said. Henderson created fake financial statements to hide the loss from the owner, it said.

Henderson owned two businesses and began working in 2020 as an independent contractor for her employer and billed them for work involving billing, customers, insurance and bookkeeping, the indictment said. She duplicated payments to her own businesses numerous times, according to the indictment.

She then transferred the funds from her business accounts to other personal accounts, the indictment said. In check memos, Henderson wrote that the funds were used to pay for “farm labor and equipment, vehicles, off-road vehicles and ‘to cash,’” it said.

Henderson also transferred money to another business owned by her co-conspirator, the indictment said. The funds were described as reimbursements, but the indictment said the original expenses never existed.

The co-conspirator has not been charged, Zimmerman said Tuesday.

A federal grand jury indicted Henderson on Nov. 21 on seven counts of bank fraud, 10 charges of money laundering and a charge of conspiracy to commit both of those crimes.

Tess Williams

Tess Williams is a reporter focusing on breaking news and public safety. Before joining the ADN in 2019, she was a reporter for the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. Contact her at twilliams@adn.com.

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