An Orange County woman is in hot water after embezzling millions from an instant ramen company she worked for, federal prosecutors said.
Tae Miyaji Jones, 50, from Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of embezzlement on Thursday.
In 2010, Jones began working as an account manager at a company only listed as S.F. in court records. S.F. manufactures a variety of instant noodle projects out of Garden Grove, according to charging documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
As an account manager, Jones controlled the company’s financial systems, corporate accounts and records, according to court documents. Using S.F.’s accounting system, she would wire money to her personal banking accounts, court records state.
From December 2017 to July 2023, Jones embezzled more than $2.8 million to pay for luxury items, including jewelry and an assortment of designer bags, as well as properties in Madison, Alabama, and Waikoloa, Hawaii, according to her plea agreement.
“Usually with these types of [cases] it goes on for a while until somebody notices something,” said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. However, Jones falsified records in order to conceal her fraudulent activity, prosecutors said.
She was charged with seven counts of mail fraud after she allegedly mailed herself seven checks ranging from $16,800 to $58,800. She also faced three counts of wire fraud, including a $259,000 transaction involving Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, per court records.
As part of the plea deal, Jones will have to pay back the stolen money. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 6, 2026, according to the City News Service.
Jones’ defense team declined to comment on the case.
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