Miami, Florida – Following a three-day trial, a South Florida federal jury this week found 27-year-old Hialeah resident Dianellas Molina Noda guilty of using stolen identities and several of her own bank accounts to steal payroll funds from the family-owned landscaping business for which she had worked for about four years.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Molina Noda handled the payroll of Greentree, Inc., a local landscaping company, and used her access to its records to commit fraud. Using the identities of 20 former employees of the small business, Molina Noda logged work hours in their names and sent the information to a payroll company, which triggered the payroll company to issue paychecks or make direct deposits to accounts. Molina Noda set up three bank accounts and used them to receive the direct deposits or deposit the checks. Between August 2018 and March 2019, Molina Noda stole over $152,000 from this family-owned landscaping company, in addition to collecting her salary. She spent the money on cosmetic surgery, jewelry, furniture, an Orlando timeshare, and a Disney ticket package, among other things.
The jury found Molina Noda guilty of five counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. She faces a maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment for the wire fraud, plus two years of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is set for October 29, at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. Chief District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the jury’s verdict.
FBI Miami investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Hapner and Abbie Waxman.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-20087.
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