A North Texas law firm controller pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing $1.48 million from her employer over the course of three years by inflating her payroll, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Christiane Kathleen Irwin, 44, worked for a Dallas law firm not identified in court documents from 2019 to 2021, where she was charged with submitting payroll information to a third party responsible for sending out paychecks, according to court documents and the news release.

She has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and now faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for January, but Irwin has agreed to repay the $1.48 million stolen from the company as restitution.

Her salary was set at around $140,000 per year but, through fraudulent submissions, Irwin received additional money from the law firm’s payroll vendor every two weeks, according to the news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

In the federal indictment, Irwin was accused of submitting fraudulent information to the payroll vendor on three occasions. In March 2018, the indictment says Irwin inflated her payroll by $30,836.67. In November 2019, the indictment says Irwin inflated her payroll by $36,011.77. And in March 2020, that number jumped to $49,375.

This story was originally published August 23, 2023, 12:55 PM.

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