El Dorado Hills woman pleads guilty to stealing nearly $18 million from her employer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Lizbeth Guadalupe Sherman, 47, of El Dorado Hills, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Sherman worked as an executive assistant to a retired Bay Area venture capitalist. In this role, Sherman was tasked with paying her employer's credit card expenses and was granted access to her employer's bank account. Between September 2015 and May 2025, Sherman abused this access and stole nearly $18 million from her employer in order to pay off her own extravagant credit card expenses. In this manner, Sherman spent tens of thousands of dollars on luxury handbags, Rolex watches, resort-level vacations, private jet travel, vehicles, and improvements to a $2 million residence in El Dorado Hills.

At some point, Sherman began reselling designer products that she bought with the employer's money on online platforms, thus converting her credit card purchases into cash. Sherman earned more than $450,000 on one such platform over nine months in 2025. In December 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at her residence and recovered more than 1,500 luxury items, most in mint condition with original packaging and tags intact, stored and displayed throughout the residence. In a closet, law enforcement found dozens of Louis Vuitton handbags lining the top shelf, many pairs of Christian Louboutin boots, and a display case full of handbags made of exotic furs acquired with proceeds of the fraud scheme, as shown below:

Elsewhere throughout the residence, law enforcement located several other designer handbags, Rolex watches, and premium bottles of wine acquired with proceeds of the fraud scheme, as shown below:

As part of the plea agreement, Sherman is subject to forfeiture and restitution to her employer of nearly $18 million.

IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Program. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dhruv M. Sharma and Kevin C. Khasigian are prosecuting the case.

Sherman is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on March 22, 2027. Sherman faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.