Former Law Firm Bookkeeper Sentenced for Stealing Over $800K



By Dan Doyle | June 27, 2025

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A former bookkeeper for a Lower Southampton Township law firm was sentenced Thursday June 26, 2025, to county jail for embezzling more than $800,000 over a six-year period.

Reese Esther Paul, 66, of Holland, Northampton Township, will serve one year less a day to two years less a day in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, followed by five years of probation. She was also ordered to pay $839,816.41 in restitution to the Law Office of Rovner, Allen, Rovner, Zimmerman, Sigman & Schmidt.

Paul pleaded guilty in March to multiple felony charges, including theft, identity theft, forgery, and computer trespass. Prosecutors say she exploited her remote access to financial records to systematically divert funds for personal use from 2017 to 2023.

The theft was discovered after a firm escrow check bounced in January 2024. An investigation by Detective Joseph Zaffino found Paul had made 90 unauthorized transfers totaling $450,000 and wrote 71 forged checks for another $372,816.41. She disguised many of the transactions as legitimate legal expenses.

The stolen money funded personal and family spending, including travel, gambling, and college savings contributions. The firm also spent over $17,000 in accounting fees to uncover the fraud and faced disciplinary action in New Jersey.

At sentencing, Paul made a $100,000 restitution payment but has not yet taken significant steps to repay the full amount, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc J. Furber, who prosecuted the case.


1 thought on “Former Law Firm Bookkeeper Sentenced for Stealing Over $800K

  1. Matt S says:

    The Real Person Badge!

    The commenter acts as a real person and verified as not a bot. Passed all tests against spam bots. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk.

    Gotta love these greedy slimeballs who think they’ll get away with their activities.

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