Former Concord Office Manager Sentenced For Embezzling $2M

EAST BAY, CA — A former office manager at a real estate technology company office in Concord has been sentenced in federal court in Oakland to four years and three months in prison for crimes related to the embezzlement of $2 million. Celia Nipper, also known as Celia Arrand, 62, of Discovery Bay, was given the sentence Monday by U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam.

She pleaded guilty before Gilliam in September to three counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and two counts of filing false tax returns for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.

Nipper worked as office manager in the Concord office of MarketLinx, a subsidiary of Irvine-based CoreLogic Inc., and of a predecessor company, Sonic Eagle, from 2005 to 2011, according to a 2016 grand jury indictment.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Abraham Simmons said that in her guilty plea, Nipper admitted to embezzling more than $2 million from her employers by diverting customer payments and other company funds to her personal bank accounts.

The two counts of false tax returns were related to her failure to report $1.1 million in ill-gotten gains in the 2009 and 2010 tax years, according to a prosecution filing.

Nipper's office manager salary ranged from $65,000 to $80,000 per year, the indictment said.

Gilliam also ordered her to pay restitution. The exact amount will be determined at a future hearing. The judge mandated three years of supervised release following her prison term and prohibited her from taking
any fiduciary jobs without permission during that time.

Nipper was ordered to surrender on April 30 to begin serving her sentence.

By Bay City News Service

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