The former controller and chief financial officer of a Fresno, California company has been indicted on fraud and money laundering charges for allegedly using PayPal Inc accounts to divert and embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Anthony Lester, 51, of Fresno, was hired as the controller of a local business called Century Builders and later was made chief financial officer before leaving the company in October 2011. While at Century, Lester had access to the financial accounts of another Fresno business, Highlands Energy Services, the indictment states. Highlands had an account with online payments company PayPal that was linked to the business' bank account and credit card. Lester, over time, funneled nearly $300,000 from the company PayPal account to a PayPal account he controlled, ultimately transferring the money into an account he controlled at Bank of America, the indictment states. It adds that the funds transfers were disguised as
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