Kimberly Ann Miletta convicted of defrauding publishing company and its owner

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Kimberly Ann Miletta of Ventura was found guilty of three counts of wire fraud after she defrauded a Beverly Hills-based publishing company and its owner out of at least $1.3 million.

Miletta served as President of Phoenix Books, an independent book and audio publisher owned by a person identified in court documents as "J.O.", and had full control over the company's finances, but was only authorized to use company funds for legitimate business expenses detailed the Department of Justice in a press release about the conviction Tuesday.

During the five-day trial, a Los Angeles jury was presented evidence that between October 2013 and January 2018, Miletta embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars through a company credit card that she had exclusive control stated the Department of Justice.

Miletta used the company credit card to pay for personal expenses including: personal spa treatments, designer handbags, high-end clothing, a multi-thousand-dollar mattress, and a years' worth of veterinary bills and pet products for her cats explained the Department of Justice.

All together, Miletta fraudulently charged more than $185,000 worth of purchases on the company credit card as well as made a fraudulent wire transfer out of the company owner's personal account of almost $1 million which she used to purchase an ocean-view home in Ventura shared the Department of Justice.

The jury found Miletta not guilty of two additional counts of wire fraud she had been originally charged with and she now awaits a sentencing hearing currently scheduled for Jan. 10, 2025, where she faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of the three counts she was convicted explained the Department of Justice.