A woman from Florida who stole over $4 million from her job and tried to stage her own death has received a 10-year prison sentence for wire fraud and money laundering. 

Madelyn Hernandez, 49, from Lee County, embezzled $4,199,498.42 from a textile and apparel supply chain firm that is not identified in court papers. 

She telecommuted for the company for 16 years prior to starting to submit fake invoices from alleged suppliers, instructing payments to be directed to her bank accounts. 

Pretending It 

Prosecutors stated that Hernandez was responsible for making orders with suppliers and overseeing shipping, invoicing, and inventory for the firm, which was initially located in New York before becoming entirely remote in 2019. 

The fraudulent invoice scheme operated from 2018 to 2024. Fake suppliers included a front company called Cape Prints, which Hernandez established in August 2019. 

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, she spent the money she took on “personal expenses and for gambling.” 

The plan came to light in June 2024 when an internal investigation disclosed that many invoices, inventory records, and proof-of-delivery papers provided by Hernandez were fake. 

Confronted with an investigation, Hernandez messaged her employer, impersonating a family member, stating that she had passed away from complications after surgery. 

Returned from the grave 

The business reached out to law enforcement, leading to an inquiry by the FBI and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. This resulted in the execution of a search warrant at Hernandez’s home in October 2024, where she was astonishingly discovered alive and well. 

While being questioned, she confessed to pretending to be dead and stealing money from her employer. According to court documents, she asserted that she "did not believe what she took amounted to $4 million." 

Hernandez admitted guilt on January 28 of this year and has been required to surrender the $4 million as a component of her punishment.