Bookkeeper Sentenced For $839K Bilking Of Lower Bucks Co. Law Firm

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A former bookkeeper faces prison time for bilking her Bucks County law firm of more than $800,000 over six years, authorities said.

Reese Esther Paul, 66, of Holland, Northampton Township, received a sentence Thursday of one year less a day to two years less a day in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, followed by five years of probation, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

Authorities said Paul was "systematically stealing" from her Lower Southampton Township law firm.

She was ordered to pay $839,816.41 in restitution to the Law Office of Rovner, Allen, Rovner, Zimmerman, Sigman and Schmidt.

In March, Paul pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft by deception, identity theft, access device fraud, computer trespass, and forgery.

Authorities said she orchestrated a scheme that embezzled $822,816.41 from the firm between December 20, 2017, and December 29, 2023.

She spent the money on personal and family expenditures, including travel, retail purchases, cash advances, online gambling, and even contributions to her grandchildren's college savings accounts.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber said Paul has yet to liquidate assets to repay the stolen funds, but did make a $100,000 restitution payment at the time of her sentencing.

Steven Rovner, the principal and managing attorney for the law firm, addressed the court during the sentencing.

Authorities said the fraud was discovered when a check from the firm's New Jersey escrow account bounced due to insufficient funds.

When accountants met with Paul on Jan. 9, 2024, to review financial records — she had been working remotely from home regularly — the scheme started unraveling, authorities said.

An investigation by Lower Southampton Detective Joseph Zaffino revealed Paul’s multi-faceted embezzlement.

Between December 1, 2021, and December 29, 2023, Paul made 90 unauthorized electronic transfers totaling $450,000 to her personal credit card accounts. These transactions were disguised in expense reports as payments to the New Jersey Judiciary Account Charge System, a system attorneys use for filing fees.

Before those transfers, from 2017 to 2021, Paul had written 71 unauthorized checks to herself, amounting to $372,816.41.

At least one of these checks, attempted to be deposited in 2020, was flagged for suspected forgery of the signature of Robert Rovner, who was over 60 years old at the time and passed away in 2021. All 71 checks were later confirmed as forged.

Beyond the direct financial losses, the law firm incurred an additional $17,000 in accounting fees to uncover and quantify the extent of the theft. Paul’s activities also caused disciplinary issues for the firm in New Jersey, authorities said.