The woman used the money for her gambling addiction
Frederick, Md. (DG) – A Montgomery Village woman is headed to federal prison after stealing more than half a million dollars from the U.S. State Department. Sixty-five-year-old Levita Almuete Ferrer was sentenced to 12 months and one day behind bars for embezzling over $650,000 while working as a senior budget analyst in the Office of the Chief of Protocol.
Prosecutors say that between March 2022 and April 2024, Ferrer wrote more than 60 checks to herself and another individual, depositing them into personal accounts. She tried to cover her tracks by altering entries in the department’s QuickBooks system.
Ferrer admitted she used the stolen money to fuel a gambling addiction. In fact, the same day she pleaded guilty this past April, she violated her release conditions by visiting MGM National Harbor casino, leading a judge to revoke her bond.
In addition to prison, Ferrer must pay back more than $657,000, serve three years of supervised release, and is barred from entering casinos.