An executive assistant admitted in federal court that she stole nearly $18 million from her boss over 10 years to pay her own credit card bills and fund a life of luxury.
Story Highlights
- Lizbeth Guadalupe Sherman, 47, of El Dorado Hills, California, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
- Prosecutors say she took nearly $18 million from a retired Bay Area venture capitalist between September 2015 and May 2025.
- Agents who searched her home in December 2025 found more than 1,500 luxury items, most still in their original packaging, according to prosecutors.
- She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when she is sentenced on March 22, 2027.
A former executive assistant from El Dorado Hills pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $18 million from her employer over a 10-year period. https://t.co/hkWrgUGfiR
— ABC10 (@ABC10) November 4, 2026
Guilty Plea Ends a Decade-Long Theft
Lizbeth Guadalupe Sherman, 47, of El Dorado Hills, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Monday, November 2, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. Wire fraud is a federal crime that covers schemes to cheat someone out of money through electronic means, such as bank transfers or the internet. According to court documents, Sherman worked as an executive assistant to a retired Bay Area venture capitalist. Her job was to pay her employer’s credit card bills, and she had access to the employer’s bank account.
Prosecutors say she abused that trust. From September 2015 through May 2025, she used her boss’s money to pay off nearly $18 million in charges on her own credit cards. The employer has not been named in public court announcements.
Rolexes, Private Jets and 1,500 Luxury Items
According to prosecutors, the stolen money paid for luxury handbags, Rolex watches, resort vacations, private jet travel and vehicles. It also paid for improvements to Sherman’s $2 million home in El Dorado Hills, a suburb east of Sacramento.
Prosecutors say she also turned some of the goods back into cash. She resold designer products bought with her employer’s money on online sites, and on one site she made more than $450,000 in nine months in 2025. In December 2025, agents searched her home and found more than 1,500 luxury items, most in mint condition with the tags still on. They included dozens of Louis Vuitton handbags, many pairs of Christian Louboutin boots, a display case of handbags made from exotic furs, Rolex watches and premium wine. IRS Criminal Investigation led the case, with help from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service.
How a Theft Like This Runs So Long
The size of this loss is far outside the norm. A 2024 study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a group that trains fraud investigators, found that organizations lost more than $1.5 million per case on average, and most cases were far smaller. The typical fraud in that study lasted about 12 months before it was caught. Sherman’s scheme ran for nearly 10 years.
Simple checks make this kind of theft harder. Separate the person who approves payments from the person who makes them. Have someone else review bank and card statements every month. Rotate duties so no one person controls the whole money trail. The same study found that tips were the most common way frauds came to light, and more than half of those tips came from employees. Trust is good, but checking the books is better in any office that handles money.
What She Faces at Sentencing
As part of her plea deal, Sherman must give up assets and pay her former employer back nearly $18 million. This is called forfeiture and restitution: the government takes property tied to the crime, and the victim is paid back for the loss. U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb is set to sentence her on March 22, 2027.
The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The judge will set the actual sentence under federal law and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the rules courts use to weigh the size of the loss and other factors. Either way, the case shows that abusing a boss’s trust to fund a life of luxury carries serious consequences in federal court.
Sources:
southtahoenow.com, justice.gov, fox40.com, villagelife.com