Former ops manager admits to creating fake trucking company as part of $2.6 million embezzlement scheme

A Texas woman pleaded guilty to charges related to embezzling millions of dollars from her employer, a global logistics and freight forwarding company based in Florence, Italy.

On March 27, Vika Latai Moa, 36, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Authorities say that between June 2016 and October 2019, Moa was employed as an operations manager at Savino USA in the Dallas, Texas, area.

Savino USA is a subsidiary of Savino Del Bene S.p.A, a logistics and freight forwarding company based in Florence, Italy, that uses third party trucking companies to provide transportation services for clients.

According to officials, Moa was in charge of selecting and paying out these third party trucking companies.

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

Between June 2016, and October 2019, Ms. Moa falsely represented to Savino USA employees that invoices for trucking services were owed, which caused Savino USA to pay more than $2.6 million to a bank account to which she had access.

For instance, as part of her scheme to misappropriate funds from Savino USA, Ms. Moa misrepresented to Savino USA employees that a fictitious business was an actual transportation company. She created fraudulent invoices for trucking services that the fictitious business purportedly provided to Savino USA.

Ms. Moa then directed Savino USA to pay the fictitious business based on these false invoices, knowing full well that the company did not perform any services for Savino USA, as it was not a real business and did not have any operations

Moa’s sentencing is scheduled for September 22. She is facing up to 20 years in federal prison.

She has also agreed to pay $2,623,888.44 in restitution.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field office.