A Henderson woman pleaded guilty Friday to embezzling over $26 million from her employer in a case tied to a kidnapping of the company owner and threats of harm to his family.
Cynthia Marie Marabella pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of monetary transactions in criminally derived property, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada.
According to court documents and statements made in court, she admitted that, from Jan. 1, 2018, to about Feb. 28, 2025, she and her boyfriend, co-defendant William Keolanui Costa, devised a scheme to defraud Marabella’s employer.
As part of the scheme, they fraudulently duplicated bonus checks and deposited the checks into bank accounts controlled by Marabella and Costa; opened credit cards in other peoples’ names and made unauthorized charges, then paid the credit cards’ bills with stolen funds; provided false accounting records to the employer; created forged and false bank statements; and sent fictitious invoices from merchant accounts, then paid the invoices with stolen funds.
Marabella and Costa used the stolen money to pay off vehicles, living expenses and credit cards, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. They also purchased high-end merchandise with the stolen funds, such as expensive purses, shoes, clothing and jewelry.
Marabella sold the merchandise through an online consignment company. Marabella and Costa received more than $245,000 from the sales. As a result of the scheme, Marabella and Costa obtained more than $26 million from the employer.
Costa was arrested in February 2025. Police said he and other men abducted Larry Gilmore, the owner of Gilmore Construction. The kidnapping was designed to persuade Gilmore to tell the IRS the money was a gift or investment to make the case go away, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
Sentencing for Marabella has been set for Aug. 4 before U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon.
Costa, who remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center, is scheduled to appear in District Court on Aug. 12.
Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on X.
