According to press reports, Tammy Andreycak, a former director of accounting at Le-Nature’s Inc., recently pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The charges included bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and filing false income-tax returns, all allegedly taking place between 2003 and 2006. Andreycak is the first person to be prosecuted in the fraudulent scheme alleged to have occurred at Le-Nature’s.

Le-Nature’s, a Pennsylvania manufacturer of bottled drinks, closed down after declaring bankruptcy in 2006 following a federal investigation concerning allegedly fraudulent activities by the company. Prosecutors alleged that Le-Nature’s falsely portrayed its financial condition and used this false data in its financial statements to defraud lenders, including Wachovia Bank NA and AIG Capital Equipment Finance.  While the losses for those two lenders allegedly exceeded $300 million, prosecutors have stated that losses for others who were allegedly misled by Le-Nature’s scheme will likely exceed $500 million. Andreycak’s alleged role in the scheme was to aid Le-Nature’s founder and Chief Executive, Gregory J. Podlucky, by allegedly creating false accounting records, which according to prosecutors, created the false appearance that the company was financially stable.

As part of the plea deal, Andreycak agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation and is scheduled to be sentenced in July, when she could face up to 58 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine.