Defendant allegedly stole or attempted to steal more than 400,000 dollars from nonprofits' accounts Date: November 8, 2023 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Yesterday, Deborah Wilczek, of Enid, pleaded guilty to making, uttering, and possessing a forged security, and willfully filing a false federal income tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. On October 17, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a 17-count superseding indictment against Wilczek, charging her with devising and carrying out a scheme to defraud the YWCA in Enid (YWCA) and the Cimarron Montessori Children's House (Cimarron). According to the Superseding Indictment, beginning in November 2012 and continuing through April 2019, Wilczek served in leadership positions for the YWCA. She also served on Cimarron's School Board in various capacities from August 2016 to April 2021. The Superseding Indictment alleges Wilczek routinely accessed both the YWCA and Cimarron's business bank accounts and made several unauthorized transfers from those accounts to pay for her personal expenses. In total, the superseding indictment alleges Wilczek obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $414,951.35 from the two nonprofits, with $139,308.35 coming from YWCA and $275,643 coming from Cimarron. It is also alleged Wilczek forged the signature of two principals of Cimarron to draw money from Cimarron's business account and deposit funds into bank accounts she controlled. The superseding indictment further alleges Wilczek willfully filed false federal income tax returns for the years 2016 through 2020, where she listed her total income substantially below the income actually received as a result of the fraud described above. On November 7, 2023, Wilczek pleaded guilty to Counts 10 and 17 of the superseding indictment, which charged her with uttering and possessing a forged security, and with willfully filing a false federal income tax return. As part of her plea, Wilczek admitted to possessing a check with a forged signature written on a bank account belonging to Cimarron and filing an income tax return for the 2020 tax year that materially understated her income. At sentencing, Wilczek faces up to 10 years in federal prison on Count 10, up to three years in federal prison on Count 17, and fines totaling up to $500,000. In her plea agreement, Wilczek additionally agreed to pay restitution to victims of her relevant conduct, which will be determined by the court at sentencing. This case is the result of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office, and the Enid Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William E. Farrior and Danielle London are prosecuting the case.
