PREVIOUSLY:

Former Fortuna city council member Christina Mobley was federally indicted yesterday on three counts of fraud.

As first reported by the North Coast Journal, the FBI claims that Mobley, working as an accountant, stole over $500,000 from her employer over the course of almost three years by writing checks made out from the company’s Umpqua bank account, sending them through the mail to Capital One, and then directing the bank to deposit the money in one of two bank accounts she held with Capital One. 

Mobley. Photo from city of Fortuna.

Mobley also transferred money electronically from her employer to pay off her credit card payments through Credit One bank and used the business credit card for personal expenses, including cash advances at casinos and airfare and travel expenses. Additionally, the FBI also alleges that Mobley took blank checks the business had in the office for unforeseen expenses and issued them to herself. 

She also paid herself for extra hours on the payroll that she didn’t work, gave herself extra vacation time and large bonuses, and duplicated her own payroll checks. 

According to the indictment, the embezzlement started no later than January 2022 and didn’t stop until November of 2024. The employer isn’t identified in the indictment, but she told the North Coast Journal in 2022 that she worked for Beacom Construction in Fortuna. Mobley started working there in the ‘90s. 

According to the FBI, Mobley deposited roughly $67,000 into her personal Capital One accounts via 15 checks. Mobley paid almost $300,000 of her credit card debt with the company’s money over 107 payments. 

Read the indictment here.