Office Manager Abused Employer’s Trust And Stole Over $1,800,000 Over Ten Years

MOBILE, AL - A Mobile woman employed as a manager by a pair of related Mobile-based companies for about 20 years was sentenced today to a total of 75 months in prison for defrauding her employer of over $1,800,000, from their bank accounts. To accomplish her scheme, she misused a company's officer's signature stamp to write herself checks and electronically transferred money to her bank accounts.

According to court documents, the company Controller discovered that Kelley James Williamson, 47, had written unauthorized checks to herself for about $222,000. That triggered an internal investigation which revealed Williamson's scheme began in early 2014 and continued until November 2024. The internal investigation also revealed a much larger loss. The employer's lawyer contacted the Secret Service to report her crimes after she confessed to him. The Secret Service, in addition to its protective details work, investigates financial crimes. Its investigation - in coordination with the U.S. Attorney's Office - uncovered the full expanse of her crimes and losses suffered by the businesses. Before the U.S. Attorney charged Williamson, it seized over $79,000 from Williamson's bank accounts to preserve it as Williamson had spent lavishly leading up to Mardi Gras 2025 as the queen of a local carnival organization. It also seized her crown, estimated to be worth $2,000 or more, which will be forfeited and sold. The U.S. Attorney's Office will apply for the funds to be restored to the businesses to offset their losses. The court ordered that Williamson must repay the businesses the remainder of the loss as restitution.

"Financial crimes can and do devastate businesses and the families which own them. Unfortunately, this defendant chose to betray the businesses' trust they'd placed in her, which is a gut punch to the people who worked side-by-side with her and trusted her all those years," U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello said. "Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who victimizes businesses to line their own pockets."

"Ms. Williamson took advantage of her employer's trust, stealing more than $1 million from a business here in the Mobile community," said Resident Agent in Charge Jennifer Nissen, U.S. Secret Service Mobile Resident Office. "The U.S. Secret Service does not tolerate those who exploit our financial systems, and we appreciate our partners at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama as they worked tirelessly to bring the defendant to justice."

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service Mobile Resident Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex F. Lankford, IV, prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.