Ex-employee admits to stealing $500,000+ from Naperville law firm

A Wilmington woman pleaded guilty Friday morning to stealing more than $500,000 from a Naperville law firm that employed her.

Le Anna Kelty, 55, now faces between four and 15 years in prison when she is sentenced Feb. 16. She previously had a jury trial scheduled for the same day.

Prosecutors said Kelty worked in the accounting department at the law firm. Beginning in November 2006 through February 2013, Kelty, on numerous occasions, forged her employers' signatures and deposited unauthorized checks drawn against the firm's bank accounts into her personal bank accounts.

According to letters written to DuPage County judges, Kelty said she stole the money to pay for medical bills for her ailing husband but quickly got in over her head and was unable to repay the money.

Roughly one year after Kelty stopped working for the firm, her scheme unraveled when authorities discovered discrepancies in their books and, after an internal audit, contacted law enforcement.

"After years of stealing from a trusting employer, Le Anna Kelty's deceit and greed finally caught up with her," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "Six years and more than $500,000 later, (Kelty) is now looking at a significant amount of time behind bars."

Kelty, who served six months in prison for a similar theft and forgery case in Will County, was paroled on Dec. 21. She has been held in DuPage County jail on $150,000 bail since that time.