Las Vegas Sun64%
Henderson woman sentenced to nearly 6 years in federal prison for embezzling $26M 23%
By Las Vegas Sun Staff43%
7/30/2026, 6:45:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 15 faulty reasoning types, including Post Hoc (False Cause), Availability Heuristic, and Appeal to Emotion, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 21.5% saturation with 111 hits. Analysis detected 655 faulty-reasoning hits from 517 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 29.6% and a BS Rank of 23% (22,584 of 29,339 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 77.00% of the article peer group.
A Henderson woman who admitted to stealing more than $26 million from her Las Vegas employer over seven years was sentenced Thursday to five years and 10 months in federal prison, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada said.
Cynthia Marabella, a former controller at Gilmore Construction LLC, used the money to finance a lavish lifestyle — and the fraud scheme led to the alleged kidnapping of company owner Larry Gilmore and state and federal charges against her boyfriend, William Costa, court records show.
According to court documents:
From Jan. 1, 2018, to about Feb.
28, 2025, Marabella and Costa devised a scheme to defraud the company.
They fraudulently duplicated bonus checks deposited into accounts they controlled, opened credit cards in other people’s names and made unauthorized charges, provided false accounting records, created forged bank statements and sent fictitious invoices from merchant accounts paid with stolen funds.
Marabella and Costa used the money to live in mansions, drive high-end cars and pay private school tuition.
They also purchased luxury merchandise with stolen funds — including purses, shoes, clothing and jewelry — and sold those items through an online consignment company, netting more than $245,000 from the sales.
In addition to the prison term, Marabella was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to repay the full amount she stole.
The government had sought a sentence of 57 months.
“This sentencing sends a clear message that financial fraud and the abuse of professional trust will carry severe consequences,” First Assistant U.S.
Attorney Sigal Chattah said in a news release.
“Embezzlement harms not only the business owners but also the employees, clients and community members who rely on the organization’s financial stability.”
IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown called the case a stark example of fraud’s wide reach.
“Marabella’s $26 million fraud represented not only a staggering financial loss but also an extensive breach of trust,” Brown said.
“When an individual exploits their position to steal such a significant amount for personal gain, the fallout reverberates throughout the entire business, impacting everyone who depends on it for their livelihood.”
Marabella pleaded guilty in April to one count of wire fraud and one count of monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
Costa pleaded guilty in May to one count of wire fraud and one count of monetary transactions in criminally derived property, according to the IRS, which previously said his sentencing was set for Sept.
2.
Costa also faces sentencing on state charges stemming from allegations that he kidnapped Gilmore in February 2025 after an IRS investigation surfaced the embezzlement.
Authorities say Costa and other men abducted Gilmore, restrained him with zip ties and drove him into the desert, where they held a gun to his head and demanded he tell the IRS the stolen money was a gift or business investment to have the case against Marabella dropped.
The federal case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Henderson Police Department.
Assistant U.S.
Attorney Kimberly Frayn prosecuted.
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