Inside job: alleged embezzlement of $1.5 million from Silver Bluff

Aarik Long, The Mountaineer, Waynesville, N.C.
·2 min read

Oct. 6—A Waynesville woman is facing federal charges after allegedly embezzling more than $1.5 million in just five months while she was working at Silver Bluff.

Amy Elizabeth Curry, 46, was the office manager and bookkeeper at Silver Bluff, an assisted living, rehab and skilled nursing facility in Bethel. Curry fraudulently made 154 transfers from a Silver Bluff account to at least five different bank accounts managed by herself and her then-boyfriend, according to a federal indictment.

She started her job at Silver Bluff in July 2022 and began embezzling money in December, according to a federal indictment. She continued doing so until it was discovered five months later in April 2023.

The first known transfer was only $5,000 and was transferred into the Chime banking account of her then-boyfriend, referred to in the indictment as J.C.

Over the next five months, Curry allegedly carried out 153 more transfers to J.C.'s Chime account, her own Chime account, her State Employee's Credit Union account, a Wells Fargo account, a Woodforest Bank account and other accounts. The total embezzled allegedly came out to $1,518,771.

On March 11, 2023, Curry purchased a 2020 Ford F-150 for $51,676 using the allegedly embezzled funds. She paid $5,000 up-front from her State Employees Credit Union account. Two days later, she returned and paid the remaining amount with a cashiers check from another one of her State Employees Credit Union accounts.

During the investigation, several items were seized including the F-150, a 2020 Kia Optima, a 2023 Nissan Maxima, a 2023 Polaris RZR and $117,867.49 from four bank accounts.

Curry has been federally charged with wire fraud and money laundering.

If convicted, the wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. She could also face a forfeiture money judgement of the amount she allegedly embezzled.

The U.S Attorney's Office in Asheville will prosecute the case. The Haywood County Sheriff's Office initially investigated the crime before turning it over to the FBI.