WE HAVE A PIC OF REID A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $500,000 with the help of a Fort Washington-area clergyman.
Karen L. Parish was a patent office financial analyst. Michael Reid, who pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy earlier this month, runs a company, Redeemed Music House LLC, that works with churches to develop their musician staffing, sound and management. He also is the minister of music at the Ark Safety Christian Church.
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Parish, a 39-year-old Woodbridge resident, managed accounts in which patent office customers deposited funds used to pay expenses that later could be drawn down to pay applications’ expenses, court document said.
One of Parish’s tasks was to process requests for funds from customers who had completed the application process, documents said.
In her guilty plea, Parish admitted to identifying dormant accounts. She then would change the names on those accounts to Redeemed Music House and wire the cash to the company’s bank account, which was controlled by Reid.
Parish admitted to stealing $534,338 with Reid’s help. Reid paid back nearly $7,000 of the funds after being contacted by the patent office in September 2008.
In his guilty plea, Reid said he returned the bulk of the cash to Parish in payments of less than $10,000 so as to avoid filing bank reports.
Patent office Inspector General Todd Zinser said the embezzlement was caught when new management took over the patent office’s financial management department.
“This case underscores the importance of strong internal controls,” Zinser said “It also emphasizes the need to stress integrity as a core value within the federal work force.”
Parish will be required to pay back all the cash she took, according to the terms of her plea agreement. She and Reid face up to 20 years in prison. Parish is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20
