California woman pleads guilty to defrauding Morris County victim of $800K in email scheme

HANOVER TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) – A California woman has pleaded guilty to charges related to a business email compromise that defrauded a victim of more than $800,000 in Hanover Township, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll.

Anna Marie Bustamante, 63, of Visalia, California, pleaded guilty on January 21 to an amended charge of third-degree theft, originally filed as second-degree theft, in connection with the crime.

As part of the plea agreement, Bustamante will serve 364 days in the Morris County Correctional Center, with probation as a condition of her sentence.

Bustamante defrauded the victim of $806,727.92 through the business email compromise scheme. However, the victim was able to recover all but $5,000 of the stolen funds. As a condition of her probation, Bustamante will be required to pay the victim $5,000 to compensate for the remaining loss.

Bustamante is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Robert Hanna on February 14, 2025.