February 02, 2015
Laura Wayne, 37, of Coatesville, Chester County, faces seven counts of wire fraud via criminal information, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia.
Prosecutors allege that Wayne created dummy accounts that appeared to be 401(k) retirement accounts managed by Fidelity Company for the benefit of Comcast employees, then used the names of non-employees and their actual birthdates and social security numbers to create fraudulent employee 401(k) accounts. She entered dollar amounts in the dummy accounts on the spreadsheets she sent to Fidelity so that Comcast would put money into the dummy employee accounts, and created fake on-line Fidelity accounts so that she could access the dummy employee accounts. It is further alleged that between April 2013 and January 2014, Wayne used the fake on-line accounts that she had created to direct that Fidelity transfer funds from the dummy accounts to bank accounts that she controlled.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 140 years of in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution, a $1.75 million fine, and a $700 special assessment, prosecutors said.
Comcast spokesman John Demming told the Philadelphia Business Journal that the company was "unable to comment on an open and ongoing prosecution."
The FBI investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid is prosecuting the case.
