A woman who served prison time for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from her union has been accused of stealing from a St. Bernard company that hired her after she was released.
Diana Frey, 66, of West Price Hill was indicted in Hamilton County on charges including theft and telecommunications fraud, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced on April 24.
After Frey was released from prison in 2014, according to prosecutors, she was hired by Weil-Thoman Moving and Storage in St. Bernard.
Prosecutors said Frey began stealing from the company almost immediately upon being hired. She is accused of manipulating company financial records and inflating payroll figures to conceal the ongoing theft.
Pillich said Frey was given a second chance “and took advantage of a person who wanted to help her.”
The total financial loss to Weil-Thoman was estimated at between $300,000 and $400,000.
2011 conviction
Frey’s previous conviction stemmed from her time as president of Cincinnati Organized and Dedicated Employees union. In that case, prosecutors said Frey embezzled the union’s money from 2005 until 2011, when she was charged.
The net loss to the union, which represents city employees, was estimated to be more than $700,000. It left the union nearly broke, prosecutors said.
She used the money solely to support her lifestyle, prosecutors said. Court documents say she paid a male dancer $15,000 using union funds.
In 2011, Frey pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge and was sentenced in 2012 to more than four years in prison.
Court documents show that by 2015, she was on supervised release and was making regular payments on the $740,000 she owed in restitution.
Frey did not have an attorney listed in court records on April 24.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ex-union president who served prison time again charged with theft
Reporting by Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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