Bookkeeper Stole $1.6M From South Carolina Company Over 10 Years, Feds Say
DUNCAN, SC — A longtime bookkeeper for a Spartanburg County business has been sentenced to federal prison after prosecutors say she embezzled more than $1.6 million over a decade, finally getting caught while on vacation.
Caught while out of the office
Federal court records show that Jennifer L. Bengston Cook, 56, of Greer, stole from her employer, SSRC Inc., from December 2014 to June 2024 while working part time. Her actions were uncovered when her supervisor, trying to check on a vendor payment, discovered irregularities in the books while Cook was away on vacation.
Following the discovery, Cook was fired, and law enforcement was contacted, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Carolina.
Fraud concealed through fake records
Prosecutors said Cook used the company’s bank account to pay her personal credit card bills and issued herself unauthorized checks, many of which were recorded as “void” in SSRC’s QuickBooks system. In some cases, she falsely logged the payments as being made to other employees or vendors.
She also disguised multiple checks by writing “payroll” in memo lines and even gave herself three payroll checks in a single pay period, according to court filings cited by The State.
Three-year sentence, over $2.2M in restitution ordered
Cook ultimately pleaded guilty to wire fraud. On June 23, a federal judge sentenced her to three years in prison and ordered her to pay $2,276,830.09 in restitution, which exceeds the original $1.6 million loss. Officials have not disclosed how much, if any, has been recovered.
Her defense attorneys declined to comment on the sentencing.
Decades-old company targeted
SSRC Inc., founded in 1987, manufactures theatrical products and is based in Duncan, SC. The company did not publicly comment on the case. The scale of the embezzlement has raised concerns about internal oversight in small businesses, especially those relying on longtime, trusted employees.
Should SC businesses be doing more to prevent long-term internal fraud?
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