Monique Marie Dodson, a former controller at a Salinas-based civil contracting construction company, has been charged with six counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Federal prosecutors allege that Dodson, 42, of Monterey County, stole more than $8 million from her employer between October 2021 and November 2023.
According to the charges filed in federal court, Dodson is accused of making about 136 unauthorized wire transfers from her company’s business account to her personal bank accounts. Prosecutors say she falsely described these transfers as payments for materials needed by the company.
The information alleges that Dodson took several steps to hide the unauthorized transactions. She allegedly intercepted and destroyed paper bank statements sent by the company’s bank and altered electronic statements by removing her name from transfer descriptions before saving them in company records. In addition, authorities claim she listed the unauthorized wires as legitimate expenses in the accounting journal.
Dodson is alleged to have conducted unauthorized wires totaling approximately $8,579,647.48.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian announced the charges along with FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani, IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen, and FDIC Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Ryan Korner.
Dodson is scheduled for an initial appearance and arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins on August 19, 2025, in San Jose federal district court.
“An information merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the count of money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553,” according to officials.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Neal C. Hong is prosecuting this case with assistance from Sahib Kaur. The investigation was conducted by agents from the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation division, and FDIC Office of Inspector General.
