Federal prosecutors said a Point Loma woman pleaded guilty last week to embezzling millions of dollars and spending some of her ill-gotten gains on extravagant purchases.
Ping “Jenny” Gao, 55, stole more than $8.5 million from her employer — only $5.21 million of which was recovered, the balance of which was “squandered or remain unaccounted for to date,” according to prosecutors.
Among other purchases, Gao bought a Porsche for $160,000 and a $2.9 million home that overlooked San Diego Bay and downtown, as well as purchases at high-end fashion stores.
“When her employer discovered the theft and sued in San Diego Superior Court, Gao falsely claimed her actions were authorized by the real owner of the companies in China and the person who sued her was an ‘imposter,’ ” reads, in part, a news release issued Tuesday by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
To support her false allegation, Gao paid people in China $100,000 to fabricate “evidence.”
While fighting the case, and despite the judge ordering Gao to not go through any more of her alleged embezzled funds, she sent $1.6 million overseas to an account in China and sold the Porsche to CarMax for $75,000.
Gao faces up to 50 years in jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines when she is sentenced for wire fraud and the concealment of money laundering.