FLORIDA – A Florida woman is accused of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme that allegedly took place over five years, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has announced.
According to the FDLE, its agents arrested Carolyn Eulena Pilgrim, 41, of Cape Coral, on one count of scheme to defraud (over $50,000) and one count of grand theft (over $100,000), both first-degree felonies.
The FDLE said its investigation began in August 2022, when a company contacted the agency regarding suspected embezzlement by Pilgrim, a former employee who had been in charge of the company’s accounting department.
Agents said their investigation discovered that Pilgrim had deposited more than $3 million in checks made payable to the company into a separate account under her control, reportedly using her position to ensure other employees were unaware that the payments were being used for her benefit.
According to the FDLE, the investigation also allegedly found that she abused her position to authorize payroll in her name from the company’s other locations, supplementing her $70,000 salary with more than $575,000 in fraudulently obtained payroll payments.
The FDLE said that both schemes lasted from 2017 through 2022. The investigation is ongoing.
Pilgrim was booked into the Lee County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
