Former controller expected to plead guilty to embezzlement

A former controller for two Anaheim-based companies accused an embezzlement scheme that totaled more than $3 million is expected to plead guilty Monday in federal court.

Rosalba Meza, 48, of Coto de Caza, is accused of transferring nearly $3.1 million from Trilogy Plumbing Inc. and Matrix Management LLC to her accounts from May 2017 through the end of 2019, according to federal prosecutors.

Meza told the executives of the two companies they did not have enough money to cover payroll, and several months later as the IRS was trying to collect unpaid payroll taxes she told her supervisors that she did not pay the taxes because she instead paid the employees, the indictment alleges.

She made $292,137 in cash withdrawals when the embezzled funds were transferred to an account she controlled and more than $1 million in withdrawals at automated teller machines across the U.S. and Mexico, the indictment alleges.

Meza is also accused of wiring about $870,209 to a family member’s bank account in Mexico and another $250,000 was sent to other relatives and friends, the indictment alleges.

In addition to the alleged embezzlement, she is also accused of failing to report the money in tax returns for 2017 through 2019.

Meza was scheduled to change her plea to guilty Monday in federal court in Santa Ana.

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