Tiverton woman ordered to pay $600,000 in restitution to employer she bilked for years

A 56-year-old Tiverton, RI woman who bilked her New Bedford employee out of several hundreds of thousands of dollars during a six-year timespan was convicted recently and ordered to pay $600,000 in restitution, potentially the highest restitution amount ordered in Bristol County history, District Attorney Tom Quinn announced.

Nadine Santos pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court last week to indictments charging her with 14 counts of Larceny over $1,200. The defendant, who had no prior criminal record, was sentenced by Judge William White to one year of home confinement with GPS monitoring and two years of probation. At Assistant District Attorney Michael Scott’s request, Judge White also ordered the defendant to repay her employer $600,000, with $550,000 due immediately and the remaining $50,000 to be paid by the end of her probationary term. Th defendant was also ordered to surrender her passport.

The defendant served as office manager at a law firm in New Bedford from 2004 until her termination in February 2020. She had full access to the firm’s finances and bank accounts, and she paid bills and handled payroll on behalf of the firm. From 2014 through early 2020, Santos used firm funds to pay personal debts on her and her husband’s credit cards, totaling just over $700,000. Also, from 2015 through 2019, the defendant paid herself unauthorized extra payroll of just under $200,000. Finally, the defendant used firm funds to pay off her personal auto loan and make other unauthorized payments to herself.

This case was investigated, charged and prosecuted by member of District Attorney Quinn’s Financial Crimes and Elder Fraud Unit, which is led by Assistant District Attorney Scott.

“This defendant significantly breached the trust placed in her by repeatedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a small business owner. This is the most restitution paid in a larceny case that I can recall during my time in the district attorney’s office. The business owner was consulted about this case and was very satisfied with the disposition,” District Attorney Quinn said. “I want to thank ADA Michael Scott, the head of the Financial Crimes and Elder Fraud Unit, for his efforts in investigating and prosecuting this case. This highlights the amazing work being done by the financial crimes unit.”