Alysa Dietz Gisser, 56, a former accountant/bookkeeper for an Austin, Texas, nonprofit school for children with learning disabilities, was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. She has been ordered to make restitution, as well.

The Department of Justice said Gisser embezzled money from the school beginning in 2018 by telling parents to make payments to a PayPal account that went towards her consulting business, which she renamed "to reflect the name of the school."

Gisser also changed accounting files to make it appear that the funds were paid to the school. Court documents show Gisser used the money to pay her mortgage, credit cards, and to install an in-ground pool at her home.

In addition to embezzling more than $1 million, Gisser also underreported her income from 2018 to 2021 by more than $800,000.

Morgan McGrath "Leander woman sentenced for embezzling more than $1M from private school" yahoo.com (Apr. 09, 2026).

Commentary

One way to avoid financial malfeasance by accountants/bookkeepers is to be aware of behavioral warning signs. Here are several that can be exhibited by embezzlers:

· Spending beyond his or her known financial means

· Currently experiencing or has experienced personal financial difficulties during employment

· Demonstrating a pattern of breaking or bending the rules in other aspects of employment

· Frequently claiming they are underappreciated, undervalued, or that their employer owes them a debt

· Is experiencing, has experienced, or complains of financial difficulties after a divorce, illness, or personal/family tragedy

· Insisting on working alone

· Strongly resisting or refusing to abide by changes to financial protocols

· Refusing supervision or oversight

· Strongly objecting to or refusing to participate in audits

· Working odd hours including after or before hours of operation

· Failing to provide original copies of bank, credit card, or other financial statements

· Refusing or preventing access to online accounts and/or statements

· Frequently misplacing or losing financial records

· Providing financial reports late, unbalanced, or with information omitted

· Intercepting the mail

· Rerouting mail to a personal address or the address of another organization he or she controls

· Demanding customer payments be made in-person

· Frequently using organization credit for personal expenses

· Failing to provide or submitting expense reports late or incomplete

· Failing to turn in and/or frequently losing receipts

· Creating fake receipts

· Exerting control over the accounting software including strictly restricting access

· Refusing to use accounting software

· Having signing authority of checks without oversight

· Using signature stamps without permission

· Refusing or reluctant to take paid time off, including vacation time

· Coming to work when ill

· Taking time off work only when it coincides with planned organization closures, like holidays

· Having an unusually close relationships with vendors

· Exerting control over vendor relationships with little to no oversight

· Refusing to work with different vendors

· Refusing to bid out work to other vendors

· Having an interest or stake in a vendor or other business interests outside of employment

· Having control over or access to inventory or assets that are frequently missing or unaccounted for

· Using old equipment despite purchasing new equipment

· Is known to sell products online or directly to other businesses

· Storing inventory at a personal residence or storage units

· Refusing or reluctant to list inventory or other assets in their control

· Having or demanding control over cash transactions and/or cash deposits

· Frequently failing to have registers or cash drawers that balance

· Frequently writing off account receivables

· Providing frequent discounts especially to friends, family, and acquaintances

· Authorizing a large number of returns and refunds

· Demanding or expressing preference for cash payments over other forms of payment

· Providing discounts or other incentives for cash payments

· Clocking in at work, but not physically present

· Putting in more overtime hours than normal

· Frequently experiencing complaints from coworkers, vendors, customers, and/or other workplace participants on financial matters and/or transactions