Tamara Wallace, a former executive of a Flower Mound company, has been convicted of embezzling over $1.3 million in company funds.
Wallace was chief operating officer of Donate2Impact, formerly known as Recycle2Support, a company that works with local nonprofits. She was arrested for felony theft in 2021 and pleaded guilty in January.
Officials said Wallace spent the money she stole from the company on designer purses, home improvements, spa treatments, and other personal expenses.
Per FOX 4 News, Wallace used company money to fund almost every aspect of her lifestyle, including to go on several vacations.
According to company officials and the Denton County District Attorney’s Office, Wallace stole petty cash, wrote herself checks, and charged purchases to company credit cards, which she nearly maxed out every month.
Jamie Beck, first assistant district attorney for Denton County, told FOX 4 that Wallace was also stealing through payroll.
“She was giving herself bonuses, and both of her sons worked for the company, and she was giving them more than they were authorized to make, and they were also receiving bonuses,” Beck said.
Wallace’s downfall began when company CEO Matthew Kloeber noticed several unusual charges on the company card.
“I got a fraud alert, and it was for $5,000 for a wedding venue in Plano, and I knew her son was about to get married, I just thought $5,000 — it just didn’t make sense,” Kloeber told FOX 4.
Kloeber’s discovery prompted Donate2Impact to look further into the issue, and more charges were found that did not add up. The company discovered over $1.3 million in unauthorized payments.
As part of her plea deal, Wallace is required to pay half a million dollars upfront in restitution and a yearly payment of about $86,000 to the company.
Failure to make the restitution payments would amount to a violation of her probation, according to the Denton County District Attorney’s Office.
In a statement sent to Fox 4, Wallace’s attorney wrote:
“Ms. Wallace accepted responsibility and expressed sincere remorse for her decisions at her formal job. She agreed to an appropriate sentence of 30 days in county jail, 10 years of probation with intense anti-theft classes, and most importantly that she is personally responsible to pay back the entire restitution she owes over the period of probation.”