FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 17, 2017
COVINGTON—District Attorney Warren Montgomery and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith announced the indictment and arrest of two former Franco’s Athletic Club employees Friday (Feb. 17) on charges of racketeering, theft, identity theft, and money laundering in a scheme that bilked the Mandeville company of more than $1.7 million.
The indictment accuses Emily L. Davis, 42, of Ponchatoula, the club’s former finance director, and Jennifer E. Thompson, 45, of Mandeville, the human resources director, of conspiring between March 1, 2008 and July 31, 2016, to steal cash and electronic funds systematically from Franco’s in the following ways:
- Taking more than $1.4 million in cash for their personal uses
- Erasing more than $165,000 in personal, in-house credit account charges through the use of fictitious bank accounts
- Erasing more than $19,000 in personal loans from their employer’s 401K retirement fund
- Laundering the proceeds by making cash deposits, totaling $300,000 in various personal bank accounts
Davis and Thompson have been charged with racketeering, three counts of theft, and one count each of money laundering. Davis was charged with an additional count of theft and two counts of identity theft for allegedly using the name of the club’s owners to obtain $1,000 without authorization on two different occasions. The charges are based on an investigation by the joint Financial Crimes Task Force, headed by Sgt. Stefan Montgomery, Det. Jason Mire, and Assistant District Attorney Butch Ward.
Both women are in the custody of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.
