Feds charge Fresno woman with embezzling over $1 million

A Fresno woman faces federal charges for allegedly embezzling more than $1 million from her employer, a Spain-based food distribution company.

The office of acting U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert announced that a federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment Thursday against Leslie Michelle Blowers Hays, 49, charging her with wire fraud.

According to court documents, Hays was the director of human resources at the Fresno regional headquarters of Borges USA. Between February 2005 and April 2014 when she was terminated, Hays embezzled funds from Borges USA by misreporting her salary, expenses and vacation time. Based on the false payroll information, the company’s payroll processor made wire transmissions via direct deposit into Hays’ bank account. In total, Hays stole more than $800,000 in inflated salary payments and $400,000 in false expenses reimbursements and vacation pay.

If convicted, Hays faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Feds charge Fresno woman with embezzling over $1 million."