HR Manager Sentenced to 33 Months for Stealing Over $1 Million, Gambling It Away
Tahnya Hyung Shafer pleaded guilty to wire fraud, admitting to inflating paychecks and creating fake employees to fund her gambling habit.
A human resources manager has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for stealing more than $1 million from her former employer, Spokane Industries, and gambling away a significant portion of the funds. Tahnya Hyung Shafer, 48, worked for the Spokane Valley, Washington-based steel and iron castings business between December 2022 and April 2025.
Shafer, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, oversaw employee benefits, payroll, and later, accounts payable for the company. Prosecutors alleged that she stole from her employer by inflating her paychecks and creating "fictional employees" whose paychecks were deposited into her bank accounts. A large portion of the stolen money was spent at the Coeur d'Alene Casino in Idaho.
During Shafer's employment, Spokane Industries reportedly fell behind on its bills, and its owners were forced to use personal funds to cover employee payroll. Shafer pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud as part of an agreement that dismissed 26 other wire fraud counts and money laundering charges.
She also created payments intended for vendors but altered key details, such as account numbers, to reroute funds to her own bank accounts. This scheme became possible after she began overseeing accounts payable in 2023, which allowed her access to the company's online banking system. While payments were entered into the system, another employee would approve them, unaware of Shafer's fraudulent modifications.
In addition to gambling, Shafer used over $120,000 to pay off a home equity line of credit. The fraud ultimately led to Spokane Industries, founded in 1952, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's bankruptcy attorney, Thomas Buford, stated that the business is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within the next one to two months, pending the settlement of a reorganization plan with its creditors.
Spokane Industries co-owner Patrick Turner mentioned that the company had planned to expand but faced "major and unforeseeable setbacks," directly referencing the funds fraudulently obtained by Shafer when filing for bankruptcy.
Chief United States District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford sentenced Shafer on Wednesday. She was ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution to her former employer and forfeit a property in Coeur d'Alene. Following her prison sentence, Shafer will be under supervised release for three years.
