Former office manager pleads guilty to fraud

ST. LOUIS -- The former office manager of a temporary employment business pleaded guilty Monday to a federal fraud count related to false billings.

Linda Sykora, 40, of St. Louis County, could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced Sept. 11 on the mail-fraud count. Restitution is mandatory. Federal grand jurors indicted Sykora earlier this year for false billings amounting to $278,000 while she managed a St. Louis County office of Crown Services Inc., which provides temporary workers for several clients.

The indictment says Sykora would inflate the hours worked by temporary employees to increase her bonus.