FBI: Vance Woman Embezzled $10 Million from Calera Company

A Tuscaloosa County woman embezzled more than $10 million from a nearby pond management company she used to work for by fraudulently charging credit cards for personal purchases, federal prosecutors said this week.

Acting U.S. Attorney Catherine L. Crosby said the suspect, 56-year-old Laura Lynn Tucker, has agreed to plead guilty to six counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft following an FBI investigation into her activities.

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Crosby said Tucker, a Vance woman, worked from 2000 to 2024 as a bookkeeper and office manager for a pond management company based in Calera.

"Tucker was assigned multiple company credit cards, which she was authorized to use to pay for certain business expenses," Crosby said. "However, from approximately February 2020 through December 2024, Tucker used the credit cards assigned to her, credit cards assigned to other employees of the Company, and other credit cards belonging to the Company to pay for personal expenses totaling more than $10 million."

Crosby said the federal court will soon set a date for Tucker to officially enter the guilty plea she agreed to after her indictment.

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