Embezzling Montco Controller Gets Prison, $2M-Plus In Restitution

HORSHAM, PA — A former financial controller for a Horsham-based global management company who stole more than $1.8 million from her employer is heading to federal prison and got a hefty restitution order following her guilty plea in front of a U.S. District Court judge.

Donna Laansma, of Fairless Hills, Bucks County, received 36 months' imprisonment, three years of supervised release and must pay restitution in the amount of $2,388,077.59 after her sentencing in front of a federal judge in Philadelphia this week.

Court records from the federal courthouse downtown show that U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson ordered Laansma, who is in her upper 50s, to turn herself in to prison authorities on Nov. 30 to begin carrying out her sentence.

Patch reported back in April on the case, at which time Laansma pleaded guilty to two federal criminal counts in connection with the embezzlement from Astea, a worldwide global management company based in Montgomery County that specializes in software management.

Related: Former Controller Pleads Guilty To Embezzling From Montco Company

Laansma, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion, admitted to embezzling the funds and for failing to report the fraudulently obtained earnings to the IRS.

Laansma was the company's financial controller, and as such as responsible for handling the company's worldwide finances.

The federal government said that Laansma hid her theft so well that the embezzlement was only discovered after her employer was acquired by another company.

“For years, Donna Laansma stole from her employer and omitted her earnings on her tax returns, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty said in a statement. “Today she has been held accountable for her actions. The sentence she received today is a costly reminder that engaging in such criminal behavior will result in dire consequences such as a loss of liberty and being branded a felon for life.”

Authorities said that Laansma had obtained a company credit card and used the corporate account to spend more than $1.8 million on a variety of personal expenses such as her son's college tuition, personal loan payments, vacations and more.

The judge in the case also ordered Laansma to forfeit "any property, real or personal," that was derived as a result of her theft.