Ex-Employee Sentenced for Stealing More Than $465K from St. Amelia’s Parish and More Than $890K from Audiology Office

Lisa A. Noble, a 44-year-old former office manager at an audiology practice in the City of Tonawanda, embezzled more than $890,723 over approximately five years from 2016 to 2021. In her trusted role handling finances, she exploited access to company funds through methods like issuing fraudulent checks to herself, making unauthorized debit card purchases, and diverting cash deposits, using the stolen money to fund an extravagant lifestyle filled with concert tickets, travel, and lodging. This scheme mirrored her later theft of $465,424 from St. Amelia’s Parish where she served as business manager in 2023.

The audiology office theft came to light after an investigation prompted a grand jury indictment, leading to a fugitive warrant. Noble fled to North Carolina, where she was arrested by U.S. Marshals in March 2024 and extradited back to New York. She pleaded guilty in June 2024 to 11 felony counts including grand larceny, forged instruments, and falsifying business records, and was sentenced as a second felony offender to 8 to 19 years in prison. As part of her plea, she signed confessions of judgment for full restitution but has paid nothing back. Practice owners can learn the critical importance of regular audits, segregating financial duties to prevent single-employee control over funds, and swift internal investigations when discrepancies arise, as delays allowed her schemes to persist for years.