A former office manager from Attleboro has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for embezzling more than $400,000 from her employer, a Franklin-based environmental services company. Marie Hobson, 55, received her sentence from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper in federal court in Boston. In addition to the prison term, Hobson will serve three years of supervised release and must pay $511,119 in restitution as well as forfeit $429,980.
Hobson pleaded guilty in October 2025 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. According to court documents, between December 2019 and March 2025 she increased her payroll by adding about $268,046 in fraudulent expense reimbursements. These included claims such as uniform costs despite not being required to wear a uniform for her job. She used accounting software to hide these payments and make it appear she was only receiving her regular salary.
Additionally, Hobson misused a company credit card for personal expenses including country club memberships, vacations, cruises, timeshares and home-related costs totaling over $105,000.
Authorities said Hobson did not report the stolen funds on her federal income tax returns from 2021 through 2024. This omission led to an estimated tax loss of approximately $81,000.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas E. Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today.” The Franklin Police Department assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto prosecuted the case.