Woman Admits to Stealing over $150K from Family at Lower Moreland Business

A woman who worked as a bookkeeper for her cousin’s company in Lower Moreland admitted that she stole over $154,000 from the business.

Juliett Barzilayeva, 60, of the 1600 block of Welsh Rd., pleaded guilty yesterday to the crimes that took place between January 2008 and December 2009. She faces a felony charge of theft by unlawful taking and faces a maximum sentence of 3 ½ to seven years in prison. Sentencing was put off until June so there could be an in-depth background check of Barzilayeva.

Back in March of 2010, the owner of the business, Otak Kosashvili, 50, reported to LMPD that he suspected his cousin of stealing at least $110,000 from his company over a two-year period. According to the original complaint filed to the police department, Kosashvili put Barzilayeva in charge of the company’s financial responsibilities when he was away traveling on business. Barzilayeva even had access to Kosashvili and his wife’s personal bank accounts.

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The crimes stem from the business at the 3300 block of Woodland Circle, where Kosashvili runs several import/export companies such as Blue Wave Shipping, FTC Inc., Eastern Wood Production and Delta Stream Inc.

Barzilayeva received a regular salary of $1,700 per month for her services at the company, but after exploring the matter further, it was discovered that she had made several unauthorized electronic transfers to her personal accounts.

According to court documents, the total amount that she stole was $154,876.