Mankins is ordered to repay the over $500,000 embezzled funds

District Attorney Dan Dow announced that Arroyo Grande resident Ginger Lee Mankins has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison for her guilty plea to six counts of felony embezzlement. Mankins also admitted that her crimes involved the theft of more than $500,000. She will also be ordered to repay the money she stole in an amount to be determined by the court at a hearing set for Jan. 12, 2022.

At today’s sentencing hearing, Jill Machado described her 20-year relationship with Mankins as being closely personal in nature and noted the damage inflicted by the defendant was not “just financial,” but “calculated deliberate, drawn out over a long period of time and extremely impactful on our lives.” In imposing the 10-year prison sentence, Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy described the impact of Mankins’ actions as a “tremendous loss and violation of trust.”

Court records indicate that Mankins was a bookkeeper for Rick Machado Livestock from 2007 through 2017 and for B&D Farms from 2008 through 2017 and that she stole from these companies while working for them. 

“Embezzlement committed by employees or friends in positions of trust are especially troubling, particularly when it involves staggering amounts of stolen funds over such an extended period of time,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “Our Major Fraud Unit stands ready to aggressively prosecute these and other financial crimes that harm specific victims and adversely affect our community’s economic vitality.”

The case was investigated by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations with the aid of the Arroyo Grande Police Department and was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Michael Frye assigned to the District Attorney’s Special Prosecutions Unit that includes both Major Fraud and Public Integrity.

A copy of the complaint can be accessed here. A copy of the defendant’s booking photo can be found here.

Please contact Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805.781.5819 with any questions.