Malden Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

 BOSTON – A Malden woman pleaded guilty last week in connection with a scheme to embezzle more than $795,000 from her employer. 

Kayla Figelski, 32, pleaded guilty to seven counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Sept. 15, 2021. Figelski was indicted in January 2020.

Figelski admitted to stealing at least $796,747 from her employer, a law firm in Malden, by forging checks to herself from her employer’s checking accounts, including conservatorship, trust and estate administration accounts her employer maintained for its elderly clients and their estates. Figelski deposited the checks into her own account, from which she withdrew the funds, or directly cashed the checks.   

The charge of bank fraud provides a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Malden Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Mendell’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.