A bookkeeper has been charged with wire fraud for defrauding a D.C. restaurant group of more than $364,000 over the course of three years, according to documents filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
Prosecutors allege that Jessica J. Lucas, a bookkeeper for a restaurant on 15th Street NW that is part of a larger restaurant group, regularly ordered more money than necessary for the establishment’s cash fund, and kept the extra money for herself. The court documents allege that Lucas’ alleged scheme began in January 2015 and ended in February 2018.
The lawyer representing Lucas in these criminal proceedings, Jon W. Norris, has not responded to a request for comment. The court filings do not name the restaurant or the restaurant group, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment beyond the court filings.
A LinkedIn account that appears to belong to Lucas states that she worked as a bookkeeper at Old Ebbitt Grill from May 2013 to February 2018. Old Ebbitt Grill, a classic D.C. establishment that frequently is among the highest-grossing restaurants in the country, is located on 15th Street NW.
According to the LinkedIn page, Lucas previously worked as a bookkeeper at The Hamilton and 1789 Restaurant. Clyde’s Restaurant Group, which counts Old Ebbitt Grill, The Hamilton, and 1789 Restaurant among its holdings, declined to comment for this story.
Here’s how prosecutors allege that Lucas stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer: Her job included ensuring that the restaurant had enough cash at all times, and to report to management about how much money was in the safe and how much the establishment earned during private events. If the restaurant didn’t have the necessary cash on hand, she would call an armored truck company to deliver money. According to the U.S. Attorney, Lucas would regularly take some of the cash and deposit it in her personal bank accounts. To avoid detection, she would order cash deliveries whether or not the restaurant needed it, per prosecutors.
Court filings allege that Lucas would skim money from the cash deliveries, the restaurant’s safe, and while giving out cash to the restaurant’s bars. Then, prosecutors say, she would falsify reports to management about how much money the restaurant had on hand, including saying the safe had more money than it did and stating that private event customers owed more money than they did. When confronted about a discrepancy in her reports by higher-ups (the report stated the safe had $300,000, when it had about $55,000), Lucas told management that she had dealt with the issue at hand.
The filing calls on Lucas to give up the money she allegedly stole, and, if that’s not possible, to forfeit any other property up to $364,004 in value.
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Rachel Kurzius