A human resources manager has been sentenced to less than three years in federal prison after stealing more than $1 million from her former employer and spending much of the money at a casino.
Tahnya Hyung Shafer, 48, worked at Spokane Industries, a small steel and iron castings company in Spokane Valley, Washington, from December 2022 until April 2025.
According to an indictment reviewed by the Daily Mail, the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, woman managed employee benefits and payroll before later taking responsibility for accounts payable.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Shafer began diverting company funds by increasing the amounts shown on her own paychecks.
She also allegedly created “fictional employees” and issued additional paychecks in their names, routing the money into bank accounts she controlled, court documents said.
Much of the stolen money was then spent gambling at the Coeur d’Alene Casino in Idaho, according to court filings.
While the scheme continued, Spokane Industries fell behind on its bills. The company’s owners were eventually forced to use their personal funds to keep employees paid.
On Wednesday, Chief United States District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford sentenced Shafer to 33 months in federal prison for wire fraud. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Tahnya Hyung Shafer, 48, received a 33-month federal prison sentence on Wednesday after stealing more than $1 million from her former employer
Court filings reviewed by the Daily Mail said Shafer spent much of the stolen money at Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Casino, pictured
Shafer pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud under a plea agreement. Prosecutors dismissed 26 additional wire fraud counts, along with money laundering charges.
The indictment said Shafer maintained several bank accounts in her own name at her Idaho residence while carrying out the fraud.
The scheme also involved diverting payments that Spokane Industries intended to send to its vendors, according to the charging document.
That part of the alleged fraud began after Shafer assumed responsibility for accounts payable in 2023. The indictment said the role “empowered” her to access the company’s online banking accounts.
After a payment was entered into the online banking system, another Spokane Industries employee was responsible for approving it.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Hamas and Iran Chiefs Celebrate Cease-Fire Proposal, US Abstains: 'Crucial Moment of Change' – NewsFinale
Shafer allegedly created payments that appeared to be legitimate vendor transactions, then changed details such as the destination account number so the funds were deposited into her own accounts.
Beyond her casino gambling, Shafer used more than $120,000 of the stolen money to repay a home equity line of credit, the indictment said.
The theft ultimately left Spokane Industries, which was founded in 1952, bankrupt, according to the Spokesman-Review.
Chief United States District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford imposed Shafer’s 33-month federal prison sentence on Wednesday
Spokane Industries, founded in 1952, is a small steel and iron castings company in Spokane Valley, Washington
Spokane Industries is expected to emerge from bankruptcy in the next 1 or 2 months, according to the company’s bankruptcy attorney Thomas Buford
The bankruptcy attorney for the company, Thomas Buford, told the outlet that the company was expected to exit bankruptcy over the next couple of months.
That will happen once most of its major creditors settle on a reorganization plan, according to Buford.
Spokane Industries’ co-owner Patrick Turner said the company originally intended to ‘expand’ but encountered ‘major and unforeseeable setbacks.’
Turner referenced the money Shafer ‘fraudulently obtained’ from the company when filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, per the outlet.
Shafer was ordered to pay more than $1m in restitution to her former employer by Judge Brailsford.
She was also told to forfeit a property in the 3900 block of North Belmont Road in Coeur d’Alene, per court filings.
After Shafer completes her prison sentence, she will be placed on supervised release for three years.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Shafer’s attorney, Matthew Francis Duggan, and Buford, Spokane Industries’ bankruptcy attorney, for comment.
The US Attorney’s Office in the District of Idaho told the Daily Mail on Friday that it had nothing to add about Shafer’s case.