St. Croix Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $372K from Employer Through Banco Popular Payroll System

Nicole Morales admitted to inflating payroll records and wiring funds to herself; sentencing set for March 2025 with up to 20 years in prison possible.

ST. CROIX — United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced on Monday that Nicole Morales, 48, of Altadena, California, and a native of St. Croix, has pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud. Morales appeared before Magistrate Judge Emile A. Henderson III to enter her plea. Sentencing in this case is scheduled for March 19, 2025, where Morales faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations.

According to court records, Morales began her employment as Office Manager at Nichols, Newman, Logan, Grey, and Lockwood, P.C. in St. Croix on November 10, 2015. Her responsibilities included processing payroll through Banco Popular. However, starting on December 31, 2015, Morales used her access to QuickBooks accounting software to manipulate payroll figures fraudulently.