Oregon Woman Who Gambled With Company Card Loses Appeal

Traci Lynn Marang, who served as accounting manager for Precision Electric, an electrical contracting company in Oregon, used the company credit card to take cash advances and gamble at the Rain Rock Casino in California. She sought to withdraw her guilty plea in the $300,000 embezzlement case. The Oregon Court of Appeals rejected this request in its decision dated November 4.

According to the court, Marang's lawyer acted reasonably when he recommended that she plead guilty without hiring a forensic accountant to examine the company's finances. Marang had access to the company's bank accounts, credit cards and payroll system while working at the company in Medford.

According to prosecutors, between April 2018 and February 2019 Marang used company money for personal expenses and unauthorized payments. A review by the company and an outside accounting firm found fraudulent transactions exceeding $300,000. The expenses included clothing, jewelry, furniture, concert tickets, hotel stays and several Apple Watches. Unauthorized salary and bonus payments were also identified.

Marang admitted to stealing more than $100,000 but argued that some of the transactions were authorized. She also claimed that company cards were commonly used by employees for personal expenses. Her lawyer reviewed the card statements but could not find another employee who had spent a similar amount.

In September 2021, Marang pleaded guilty to identity theft, four counts of aggravated first-degree theft and forgery of business records. She was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $310,150. The plea agreement did not provide for additional prison time on separate charges related to the incident in California.

Marang argued that if her original lawyer had worked with a forensic accountant, some of the expenses could have been shown to be legitimate, which might have led her to reject the plea deal and go to trial. The court, however, noted that because of her prior financial crime convictions, she faced a risk of up to 14 years in prison on aggravated theft charges alone.