Former State Dept Analyst Pleads Guilty to $657K Embezzlement

Levita Almuete Ferrer, a 64-year-old former State Department budget analyst, pleaded guilty to embezzling over $650,000 from the agency between March 2022 and April 2024. Ferrer exploited her signature authority to write 60 checks to herself and three to a person with whom she had a personal relationship, depositing all 63 checks into her own accounts. To conceal the theft, she manipulated QuickBooks records by initially listing herself as the payee and later changing the entries to legitimate vendors, making the scheme difficult to detect without an audit trail. The total embezzled amounted to $657,347.50. As part of her plea deal, Ferrer agreed to repay the stolen funds in restitution and faces up to 10 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for September 18. The case was investigated by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General and Diplomatic Security Service and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C.