SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

Following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Dena M. Coggins, Kami Elois Power, 54, of Gardnerville was found guilty of 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts of bank fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between November 2019 and May 2023, Power worked as an office manager and controller at a family-owned construction company in South Lake Tahoe. During her employment, Power embezzled more than $1.4 million from the company. She disguised more than $700,000 of these fraudulent transfers as payments made to vendors that the company worked with. She disguised additional fraudulent transfers as payments for payroll or reimbursements. Power also used the company’s credit card to make unauthorized personal purchases and paid down the balance of her own personal credit cards.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, and the South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

Power is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Coggins on Feb. 27, 2026. Power faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud, 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count of bank fraud, and a mandatory two-year sentence on each count of aggravated identity theft. 

~ United States Department of Justice press release