Hurricane woman admits to embezzling over $232,000 as treasurer of HOA
Nov 2, 2023, 4:33 PM
FILE — (Sebastian Duda, Shutterstock)
(Sebastian Duda, Shutterstock)
ST. GEORGE — Sharon Lee Ann Gordon, 66, of Hurricane, Utah, pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and making false statements on a tax return.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, Gordon used her position as treasurer of the Lava Bluff Homeowners Association in Washington County to embezzle more than $232,000 between 2016 and 2022.
As part of the scheme, Gordon electronically transferred funds from HOA bank accounts into her personal account and wrote checks to herself and her boyfriend by forging the signatures of other HOA board members. She also deposited checks for HOA membership fees into her personal accounts and withdrew cash from HOA accounts.
According to U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah, in April of 2022 Gordon filed a 1040 Individual Income Tax Return that underrepresented her income by more than $20,000. She also failed to report any income gained as a result of her scheme to defraud the HOA.
Gordon was ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service $20,490 in restitution for tax loss due to unreported income during her time as treasurer. She was also ordered to pay the outstanding $63,448.32 in restitution to the Lava Bluff HOA, having already paid $168,629.68 of the total amount embezzled, $232,078.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Gordon would be sentenced before a federal judge in St. George at a later date.
The case is the subject of a joint investigation by the IRS and the St. George Resident Agency of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Dent of the District of Utah.
