NH Woman To Stand Trial In $550K Vegas Escrow Scam; Blames Now-Convicted Employee For Swindle That Left Existing Mortgage Unpaid In Real Estate Sale

In Hudson, New Hampshire, the Nashua Telegraph reports:

• A Hudson woman is set to stand trial in Las Vegas next month on charges that she stole $550,000 from a lending company while working as an escrow officer several years ago. Sheila K. Jones, 46, of [...] Hudson, has pleaded not guilty to charges of felony theft and insurance fraud and is free on $10,000 bond pending the Jan. 19 trial. Conditions of the bond agreement did not prevent her from leaving Nevada, where she lived before moving to Hudson this past summer.

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• Jones is accused of stealing the $550,000 from an escrow account that she opened to hold proceeds from the sale of a $650,000 Las Vegas home. She’s also accused of lying to an insurance company by telling them the [trust] deed [ie. mortgage] had or would be paid off, according to an indictment handed down by the Clark County District Attorney in Las Vegas. [...] Reached Tuesday, Jones and her lawyer said it wasn’t Jones who committed the thefts, but employees who were working for her. [...] Jones’ lawyer, T. Augustas Claus of Las Vegas-based Legal Resource Group, said one of Jones’ employees has already pleaded guilty to stealing and is in jail.

Source: Police say Hudson woman stole $550k.

(1) According to the story, Jones currently goes by the name Sheila Mitchell. At the time of the alleged swindle, she reportedly went by the name Sheila K. Williams. EscrowRipOffKappa