Manchester woman sentenced to federal prison for embezzlement and tax offenses

Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Maria Higgins of Manchester was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 34 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for offenses stemming from two embezzlement schemes and related tax evasion.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from mid-2018 to April 2022, Higgins was employed as a bookkeeper for New England Kitchen & Bath LLC in Glastonbury. Higgins stole from the business by issuing company checks payable to herself, often including the words “commission” or “bonus” in the memo line of the check, and used a signature handstamp of the company’s owner to issue the checks; initiating wire transfers to bank accounts in her name; creating a fictitious supplier and billing the company for fictious expenses; using company debit cards to pay for personal expenses; and overseeing a construction proposal for a legitimate client project, expensing incurred costs of the project through the company, and having the client pay her directly. Higgins stole $504,807 through this scheme.

From February 2023 to April 2024, Higgins was employed as an accounting manager for PVC Solutions, Inc., in Danbury, a company that produces and distributes PVC products. Higgins stole from the company by issuing company checks payable to herself; creating duplicate vendor payment templates to initiate wire transfers to her personal bank account; creating fictitious suppliers to bill the company on her behalf; and paying personal expenses through the company’s bank account. Higgins manipulated the company’s accounting records to conceal her criminal activity. Higgins stole $356,181 through this scheme.

Higgins failed to report approximately $768,650 of her stolen income on her personal federal income tax returns for the 2018 through 2023 tax years, resulting in a loss of $167,831 to the IRS.

Judge Oliver ordered Higgins to pay full restitution to New England Kitchen & Bath, PVC Solutions, Inc., and the IRS.

On September 9, 2025, Higgins pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen money and one count tax evasion.

Higgins, who is released on a $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison on February 21.

This investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.