The key facts

  • Investor's personal assistant pleaded guilty to wire fraud and stealing nearly $18 million over ten years
  • The scheme: purchases on her own cards with the debt paid off from the employer's account; in 2025 she made more than $450,000 from reselling items
  • More than 1,500 luxury items were found during the search; the woman faces up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine

The bill-paying scheme

In California, 47-year-old Lizbeth Guadalupe Sherman pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $18 million from her employer — a former venture capitalist for whom she worked as a personal assistant. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru, citing KTLA. Her duties included paying her boss's credit card bills, which gave her access to his bank account. The woman bought luxury items on her own cards and then paid off the balances with her employer's money.

Where the money went

According to the outlet, Sherman used the stolen funds to buy a home worth about $2 million, flew on private jets, vacationed at expensive resorts, and bought Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton bags, and Christian Louboutin shoes. Over time, she launched an additional scheme: reselling the purchased items online and turning them into cash. In just nine months of 2025, she made more than $450,000 on one of the marketplaces.

The search and the sentence

In December 2025, investigators searched her home and found more than 1,500 luxury items — many were new, with original tags and packaging: dozens of designer bags, shoes, watches, and collectible wines. Sherman pleaded guilty to wire fraud and agreed to repay her employer nearly $18 million. The sentence is scheduled to be handed down on March 22, 2027; she faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.