(Riley sentenced in Federal Court)…Claude Theodore Riley is a former Brawley bookkeeper.

The Office of the US Attorney Southern District of California said he had been sentenced this week to 24 months in prison for embezzling from his former employer and failing to pay taxes on the stolen funds. He was also ordered to pay $273,000 in restitution to the employer and $75,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. Riley had entered a guilty plea in September to wire fraud and making a false tax return in a five-year scheme in which he stole from his employer, an Imperial Valley Farm. He stole approximately $272,984 from his employer, filed fraudulent tax returns, and failed to file required employment tax returns resulting in a $1.5 million tax lien against the farm.