Sioux City woman gets 10 years in prison for stealing over $60,000 from a local business

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - A woman who used to be a bookkeeper at a Sioux City company has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from the company to pay off debts and make personal purchases.

Court documents show 32-year-old Brandi Smith of Sioux City has pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, theft and forgery. These charges stem from an investigation that accused Smith of stealing over $60,000 from Dave’s Glass Company in Sioux City.

Smith was originally facing nine charges but six of them were dropped as part of the plea deal she took Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. As part of her plea deal, Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison and must pay $54,883 in damages.

According to court documents, Smith was a bookkeeper with Dave’s Glass Company from May 2018 through June 2021. Specifically, she was hired to do payroll, make purchases of supplies for the company and pay bills.

For about three years, Smith allegedly used company credit cards to make unauthorized personal purchases, totaling $31,130. Authorities say she tried to hide these purchases by forging the company owner’s signature onto company checks to make payments towards the credit card debt she was incurring. Documents further allege Smith also wrote checks to herself, her husband and for other personal payments.

Smith was also accused of paying her own bills and other personal credit card debt by making payments from business accounts. According to authorities, she used $26,491 of the company’s funds to do this. While issuing payroll, she also allegedly overpaid herself and two other employees, her husband and a friend, totaling $3,306.

Documents state Smith was fired on June 26, 2021, but kept using a company credit card.

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