A 42-year-old woman who stole over $600,000 from the Silver River Mentoring & Instruction alternative school in Ocala will spend a year behind bars.
On Tuesday, September 3, U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber sentenced Danielle Jane Liles to one year and one day in federal prison for wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay a total of $766,553.54 in restitution to the alternative school and forfeit $616,793.43, which “represents the proceeds of her crimes.”
Liles pled guilty to eight counts of wire fraud on December 12, 2023.
According to court records, between January 11, 2016, and April 10, 2023, Liles devised a scheme to defraud Silver River Mentoring & Instruction, a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring and education to at-risk children in Marion and Citrus counties.
An arrest report from the Ocala Police Department stated that on April 24, 2023, an OPD detective made contact with the executive director of Silver River Mentoring & Instruction who advised that the organization’s business manager in charge of payroll, Liles, had admitted to fraud due to an upcoming financial audit.
During a financial review with the school’s executive staff on April 21, 2023, Liles admitted that the “books were going to be off” due to extra paychecks that she had given herself since 2016. She further stated that she stole the money because she “became addicted to it,” according to the report.
Court records show that Liles had a total of 137 unauthorized paychecks issued in her name by logging false information into Silver River Mentoring & Instruction’s accounting software. She then received these paychecks through Automated Clearinghouse Services wire transfers directly into her bank account.
An investigation into Liles’ actions revealed that she cost the school $766,553.54. This amount represents the fraudulent pay she received ($616,793.43), along with the associated benefits and taxes.
On May 2, 2023, Liles arrived at Marion County Jail to turn herself in, and she was placed under arrest for organized fraud (more than $50,000). She was later released from the jail on a $25,000 bond.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education – Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.