The former controller of a Marshall Township business, who pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $9 million, will be sentenced Thursday in federal court.

Sue O'Neill, the former controller of Marco Contractors, pleaded guilty in November to one count each of wire fraud and filing a false income tax return in connection with the embezzlement, which took place over the course of nearly a decade.

In the government's criminal information, which is filed in lieu of an indictment when the defendant cooperates with the prosecution, it is alleged that O'Neill paid herself more than $2 million from her employer's bank accounts and pilfered an additional $6.7 million to start a company called Bulldog Contractors.

The government said O'Neill then purchased real estate, cars, trucks, construction vehicles and pinball machines, among other items, using the Bulldog accounts, including a property at 124 McBride Hill Road in Penn Township.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee J. Karl noted in a sentencing memorandum that, based on O'Neill's offenses and other factors, the advisory sentencing guideline range is 57 to 71 months' imprisonment, and added that restitution would be sought to recompense Marco for its losses.

But O'Neill's attorney asked for a “substantial” downward variance in her sentence “because of her personal characteristics, her post-offense conduct and based on the current COVID-19 pandemic,” providing a plethora of letters attesting to O'Neill's character to support such a variance.

In February, Marco filed a related lawsuit against Citizens Bank in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, arguing that Citizens was negligent in preventing the fraudulent transactions that not only caused direct economic damage, but also prevented the company from pursuing other business opportunities as well. That suit is pending.