Talking trees part of shop spree in $6.9m fraud

A BOOKKEEPER for a construction materials company embezzled $6.9 million (€5.3m) and used the money to go on a shopping spree that included a 104-acre ranch and a half-dozen talking trees like those in The Wizard of Oz, federal authorities said.

Prosecutors say Angela Buckborough Platt also bought eight show horses; a fleet of motor vehicles including a 1964 Ford Thunderbird; a house on five acres in Rhode Island; Hollywood-grade cinematic props to decorate her home for Halloween; and a life-size Al Capone statue.

She worked as a staff accountant for J&J Materials Corporation in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, from 1999 to 2006.