Accused Embezzler Maria Dionisio Claimed $450K Salary for Unemployment Insurance

Maria Lourdes Dionisio allegedly violated one of the first rules of embezzlement -- you're supposed to keep it a secret

​A pair of women accused of ripping off their San Francisco software company for a cool $2.6 million may go down as the most inept thieves of all-time.

Maria Lourdes Dionisio, 46, and Hannah Yah, 56, formerly of San Franisco's Autonomy, Inc. proved that it's worthwhile to read every last word of the press releases spewing forth from both the city's police department and district attorney's office. According to said releases, the two would have likely gotten away clean -- if only Dionisio didn't claim her annual income was $449,740 when filing for unemployment insurance in May. This, as you may imagine, resulted in a few red flags.

Yes, this harks to the 1993 bombers of the World Trade Center getting busted after they tried to recover the $400 deposit for their van. It is akin to an online predator listing "online predation" as a hobby in his profile. This is a Jay Leno Headlines-worthy bungle.

Alleged embezzler Hannah Yau may be wishing she chose her associate more carefully

​Dionisio, of Pacifica, was a payroll clerk at the British-based San Francisco business software firm and Yau, of Fremont, was a financial analyst. The two are charged with pocketing around $1.3 million apiece of money they were supposed to be overseeing during a four-year run.

Both were arraigned today: Dionisio on grand theft, embezzlement, and "computer use crimes" -- all felonies;  Yau is charged with grand theft and embezzlement. Bail is set at $1 million for each defendant. Each charge carries a possible prison sentence of thre years, with the massive amount of money involved possibly leading to an additional three years overall.

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