KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Irene Brooner was a controller at Galvmet, Inc., and her job included managing payroll and maintaining the company’s ledger between 2001 and February of 2014 when she was fired. Galvmet filed for bankruptcy and closed its sheet metal fabrication facility earlier this year, and Brooner has been accused of a $3 million fraud scheme that led to the company shutting down.
Brooner, 52, was federally charged in an 11-count indictment for money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud last Friday, a public announcement of the charges was made Tuesday after she was arrested and made her first court appearance. She’s accused of creating unauthorized automated clearing house (ACH) transactions that drew from Galvmet’s accounts between January of 2004 and February of 2014.
According to the indictment, she allegedly used ACH transactions to funnel direct deposits designed for payroll into her own bank account. She also allegedly inflated her salary by increasing her bi-weekly paychecks without knowledge or approval from Galvmet.
Her alleged scheme defrauded Galvmet of $1,863,914, and as a result the company that once employed 26 people and had $14 million in annual sales at its peak in 2008 had to shut down after declaring bankruptcy. The wire fraud indictment includes five counts and accuses her of sending 148 unauthorized ACH transactions to her personal checking account, and another 133 unauthorized payments to her savings account.
Galvmet was not the only victim of the scheme according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
She’s also accused of three counts of bank fraud for allegedly defrauding Missouri Bank & Trust of $1.1 million by falsifying borrowing base certificates that were tied to Galvmet’s loan with the bank. The documents contained false entries about accounts where the client was in good standing, but she denoted they were outstanding. The total sum of her scheme between Galvmet and the bank was reportedly $2,963,914.
Brooner allegedly spent the embezzled funds on a variety of personal items that included remodeling her basement with a 15-seat, granite top bar she called “The Dirty Duck”. The bar was furnished with a smoke machine, refrigeration system and beer taps, three flat-screen TVs and a variety of mannequins outfitted with authentic U.S. and German World War II weaponry and uniforms. She told FBI agents that her husband, who is a carpenter, remodeled the bar. Court documents say she spent $169,389 on furniture and home decorations.
Other things she’s accused of using the embezzled funds for include paying off her nearly $300,000 mortgage, spending more than $68,000 on college tuition for her children and buying more than $500,000 worth of jewelry and clothing.
In addition to bank and wire fraud counts, she was also indicted on three counts of money laundering. If she’s found guilty, she’ll be forced to forfeit her home, a 2004 Lexus SUV, jewelry and the court may levy a money judgment against her of at least $2,963,914.
