- May 2, 2024
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Carlos Celico was trying to hold his business together during the summer of 2011. The economy was bad, and Celico Auto Body Inc. was struggling to pay its bills. Celico stopped paying himself a salary. It was simply a sign of the times, he thought.
But then, a friend warned him that his bookkeeper of three years, Angela Wray, was a convicted felon. While living in New Jersey, she had stolen money from her former employer. She served a short sentence in prison before moving to Flagler County.
After hearing the warning, Celico went to his ledger, something he seldom did. He realized some of the checks recorded as paid out had later been canceled, but the funds were missing and not accounted for. He took his records to investigators on July 25, 2011.
In November of that year, Wray, now 36, was charged with organized scheme to defraud. Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Dunton prosecuted, saying Wray embezzled more than $58,000 from Celico’s business.
It took the jury 12 minutes to find Wray guilty.
Using a stamp of Celico’s signature, Wray made more than 120 checks to herself and covered them with false entries in the ledger she managed. A few were used to make car payments for herself and for her husband, Chris Wray, who is employed by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. She cashed 28 checks at various stores, including Walmart and Publix. The rest were deposited into her personal bank account.
“If you review the ledger in this case, you will see that most months, Ms. Wray was bringing home more money than Mr. Celico was making,” Dunton said.
The defense tried to shift the blame in the case to Celico, saying that he was misusing his funds on purpose and altering his ledger to frame Wray. Regina Nunnally, Wray’s attorney, brought up another lawsuit Celico was involved in around the same time: In 2009, a complaint was filed by Albert Kemperle of Florida LLC against Celico’s business for breach of contract in an amount totaling $58,725.31.
Nunnally said it was no coincidence that Celico accused Wray of stealing almost the exact amount he was sued for. Celico’s breach of contract lawsuit was settled in May 2010.
Dunton said the defense was trying to distract the attention from Wray with details about Celico.
She pointed again to Wray’s conviction in New Jersey. Wray was found guilty of stealing more than $40,000 from her employer there.
“What does the New Jersey incident tell us?” Dunton said. “This was her plan. She knew how to do it and get away with it for a while, and that’s exactly what she did.”
To suggest that Wray was framed for a crime she was already convicted of was ludicrous, Dunton said.
“She would have to be the unluckiest bookkeeper in the world,” Dunton said.
Wray was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was read. Circuit Judge J. David Walsh overturned a request that Wray remain free until her sentencing, which will happen at 2:30 p.m. April 29.
Wray faces up to 30 years in prison.
