MOSCOW, ID – A 34-year-old Moscow woman faces up to 20 years in federal prison for allegedly embezzling nearly $122,000 from the Moscow Walmart store while she was employed as an asset protection specialist. April Fern Snegosky is charged with one count of Wire Fraud in the Idaho District of U.S. District Court for devising a scheme to obtain money by means of false and fraudulent pretenses.
Officials say from at least October 2018 through June 2020 Snegosky changed the time cards of employees who had taken sabbaticals from work, created fake shifts for them, and then took the more than $72,000 in income via money network cards for personal use. She also reportedly overpaid herself by nearly $50,000.
Snegosky entered a change of plea as part of a Rule 11 Plea Agreement last week and was released pending sentencing subject to previously imposed conditions of pretrial supervision.
“Defendant executed a written waiver of the right to have the presiding United States District Judge take her change of plea. Thereafter, the Court explained to Defendant the nature of the charges, the maximum penalties applicable, her constitutional rights, the effect of the Sentencing Guidelines, and that the District Judge would not be bound by any agreement of the parties as to the penalty to be imposed. Further, the undersigned ordered a pre-sentence report.
Having conducted the change of plea hearing and having inquired of Defendant and her counsel, and counsel for the United States, the Court concludes that there is a factual basis for Defendant’s plea of guilty, and that it was entered voluntarily and with full knowledge of the consequences, and that the plea should be accepted,” according to court documents.
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond E. Patricco also ordered a pre-sentence investigation and a report prepared by the U. S. Probation Office.
“Further, having carefully considered the arguments of counsel and the evidence presented on the record, the Court finds that: Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(1), clear and convincing evidence exists that the Defendant is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released, and accordingly, the Defendant shall remain released pending sentencing subject to previously imposed Conditions of Pretrial Supervision,” the judge ruled.
Court records show that Snegosky was employed by Walmart beginning in 2008 until November 2021; and from at least October 2018 through June 2020, she worked at the Walmart store in Moscow.
“During that time, [Snegosky] implemented a scheme to defraud Walmart. She embezzled money by overpaying herself and manipulating employee and timecard records,” documents say.
“To manipulate the timecard records, she unlawfully reactivated accounts belonging to nine employees that were on sabbatical from their employment,” the plea agreement says. “As part of this, she manipulated the employees’ personally identifiable information (including address, SSN, and DOB) and changed their pay election to [a] money network card. [Snegosky] received and activated the money network cards purportedly belonging to the nine employees. Then she created fake shifts and clocked the employees in and out of the fraudulent shifts.”
Court documents say this caused money to be paid to the debit cards in Snegosky’s possession.
“She then spent the money on personal expenses. For example, on Mey 28, 2020, a money network account assigned to K.S. received a payroll payment of $3,071.39. That same day, [Snegosky] used the money network account assigned to K.S. to make a $3,072.31 payment to her Chase Sapphire account ending in 5402. This payment caused an interstate wire. When K.S. returned to work at Walmart, he discovered that his direct pay information had been altered and he received a W-2 tax form which identified unexplainably higher earnings,” according to the documents.
As a result of the alleged timecard fraud, officials say Snegosky received $72,146.80 in unlawful proceeds on the debit cards, which she spent.
“In addition, she overpaid herself, resulting in an additional $49,744.51 in fraudulent gains,” the documents say. “Overall, Snegosky received $121,891.31 in fraudulent money that she was not entitled to receive.”
In addition to prison, Snegosky faces supervised release of not more than three years; a maximum fine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $100. She is also required to repay Walmart the full amount of $121,891.31.
According to Snegosky’s LinkedIn account, she has held various positions with Walmart over a 12-and-a-half-year period ranging from a sales associate, training coordinator, personnel manager, asset protection manager, and personnel coordinator, to most recently an asset protection specialist.
Photo of April Snegosky Courtesy of LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-snegosky/details/experience/
