Medford Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Bank Fraud & Tax Evasion
An Oregon woman was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for embezzling more than $250,000 from her employer and evading over $50,000 in federal taxes.
Notja Michelle Brower, 53, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $310,106 in restitution to her victims.
According to court documents, in July 2018, Victim Business 1 hired Brower as a bookkeeper and office manager. Within one month of her hire, Ms. Brower began defrauding the business by issuing herself unauthorized company checks and pocketing thousands of dollars in cash payments. She then altered the business records to conceal her thefts as expenses and payroll draws. Brower also fraudulently opened a credit card in the personal name of the business owner and used that card to purchase over $20,000 in travel, casino, restaurant, and exotic car rental expenses. Brower then made payments to that credit card using the business checking account.
Also, for tax years 2018 and 2019, Brower willfully failed to report the embezzled funds as income in tax years 2018 and 19, resulting in over $250,000 in unreported income and a total tax due and owing of $57,705.
A federal grand jury in Medford returned a twelve-count indictment charging Brower with bank fraud, wire fraud, unauthorized use of an access device, aggravated identity theft, and tax evasion in April of 2024.
Brower pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of tax evasion in March of 2025.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and Medford Police Department. It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
