Paralegal from Hickory embezzled over $2 million from clients

HICKORY, N.C. — A paralegal working for a law firm in Hickory pleaded guilty to federal charges for stealing millions of dollars from the firm’s clients, prosecutors announced on Friday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release that Jennifer Elaine Roarke, 54, was guilty of wire fraud for embezzling over $2 million from clients.

Prosecutors say Roarke, also known as Jennifer Claveria, was responsible for opening mail, depositing checks into trust bank accounts, and processing invoices. But between 2015 and 2021, she admitted to making at least 190 unauthorized bank wires from the firm’s clients’ bank accounts to her own bank accounts.

Young, Morphis, Bach & Taylor, LLP confirmed to the Hickory Daily Record that she worked for their firm.

Federal investigators say Roarke used the money to pay for personal items, along with her mortgage, car payments, and credit card payments “to find an extravagant lifestyle.”

She could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud charge.

Roarke was released on bond after the plea hearing, but a sentencing date hasn’t been set yet, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

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