Louisiana couple pleads guilty in Utah embezzlement case

Louisiana couple pleads guilty in Utah embezzlement case

(Price Police Department)


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PRICE — A Louisiana couple pleaded guilty in a Utah embezzlement case Friday and paid more than $100,000 in restitution to the pair of Carbon County companies they victimized, according to prosecutors.

Yvette Marie Broussard Booker, 47, pleaded guilty in 7th District Court to three counts of computer crimes, two counts of theft, two counts of theft by deception and one count of communications, all second-degree felonies. She also pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, a third-degree felony.

Donovan Eugene "Don" Booker, 69, pleaded guilty to attempted receiving of stolen property, a class A misdemeanor.

Carbon County prosecutor Jeremy Humes said the couple was sentenced immediately after entering their pleas as part of a deal with his office.

Yvette Booker was ordered to serve 120 days of home confinement, spend three years on probation and pay a $5,000 fine, according to Humes. Her name will remain on Utah's newly created white collar crime registry for the rest of her life, the prosecutor said.

"She offered a tearful apology to the representatives of the family-owned businesses (she victimized)," Humes said. "She appeared to be very remorseful."

Don Booker was sentenced to 24 months of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, Humes said.

The Bookers were also ordered to undergo psychological evaluations, complete any recommended treatment and pay full restitution.


She offered a tearful apology to the representatives of the family-owned businesses (she victimized). She appeared to be very remorseful.

–Jeremy Humes, Carbon County prosecutor


Yvette Booker worked as a bookkeeper for two Price companies from September 2010 to August 2014. Around the time of her resignation, company officials noticed "financial irregularities," according to charging documents.

A subsequent investigation by Price police revealed that Yvette Booker had illegally diverted over $114,000 from the companies for her benefit and her husband's benefit, the charges state.

After Yvette Booker resigned, the couple moved to Louisiana. They made an estimated $66,000 on the sale of their home in Carbon County and paid $169,500 cash for their new home in Louisiana, court records show.

There were also photos on Yvette Booker's Facebook page of a 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T and a diamond ring. "Her posts suggest that these items were gifts from her husband," investigators said.

At the time of their arrests, a judge in Utah issued an order preventing the Bookers from selling or mortgaging their house, the car and the ring while the criminal case was pending. The judge lifted that order when Yvette Booker posted $130,000 to bail out of jail. Humes said the Bookers agreed to forfeit $115,000 of the bail money on Friday to make restitution to the victims.

"That made all the difference frankly in reaching a resolution in this case," he said. "We were able to make the victim whole at the time of sentencing."

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Geoff Liesik

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