July 30, 2026 - 11:44 am

A Henderson woman was sentenced Wednesday after authorities said she stole more than $26 million from her employer in a case tied to the kidnapping of the company owner and threats against his family.

Cynthia Marie Marabella was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release.

Marabella was also ordered to pay back the money she stole.

“This sentencing sends a clear message that financial fraud and the abuse of professional trust will carry severe consequences,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “Embezzlement harms not only the business owners but also the employees, clients, and community members who rely on the organization’s financial stability. We remain committed to holding individuals fully accountable for exploiting their employers for personal gain.”

According to court documents and statements made in court, she admitted that, from Jan. 1, 2018, to about Feb. 28, 2025, she and her boyfriend, co-defendant William Keolanui Costa, devised a scheme to defraud Marabella’s employer, a Las Vegas-based construction company.

The Review-Journal previously reported that an IRS investigation had found that Marabella had stolen $20 million from Gilmore Construction, where she had worked as the company’s financial controller, over a seven-year period.

As part of the scheme, authorities say the pair fraudulently duplicated bonus checks and deposited the checks into bank accounts controlled by Marabella and Costa; opened credit cards in other peoples’ names and made unauthorized charges, then paid the credit cards’ bills with stolen funds; provided false accounting records to the employer; created forged and false bank statements; and sent fictitious invoices from merchant accounts, then paid the invoices with stolen funds.

“Marabella and Costa used the stolen money to live in lavish mansions, to drive high-end cars, and to pay private school tuition,” authorities noted.

Marabella also purchased high-end merchandise using the stolen funds and sold those items through an online consignment company.

As a result of the fraud scheme, the pair obtained more than $26 million from the employer, authorities say.