Hulk Hogan’s former accountant has been charged by the Department of Justice with six counts of wire fraud.
Melissia Gauthreaux, based out of Palm Harbor near Tampa in Florida, is accused of stealing $890,000 from a ‘public figure’ as part of her scheme that was uncovered by the FBI.
According to TMZ, the ‘public figure’ is not the WWE icon who died in July last year.
Gauthreaux is accused of using her business, Accounting Resources and Management Services, to embezzle money from her clients.
It’s alleged in the indictment that between 2017 and 2021, she stole more than $890,000 from one of her clients who lived in the Middle District of Florida.
The indictment alleges Gauthreaux had signatory authority on the client’s financial accounts and was able to remove the funds without their knowledge or consent.
Hulk Hogan’s former accountant has been charged by the DoJ with six counts of wire fraud
Hogan poses for a photo with his daughter Brooke at a MTV VMA Pre-Party in Miami in 2004
TMZ also reported that Gauthreaux worked for Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, during the period in question and was responsible for bookkeeping.
If convicted, Gauthreaux faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. The DoJ is also seeking an order of forfeiture of $894,274.26 – the amount that was allegedly stolen.
Hogan collapsed at his five-bedroom mansion on Clearwater Beach, Florida on the morning of July 24 last year. He later died in hospital of natural causes.
According to a medical examiner’s certificate obtained by the Daily Mail, he suffered an acute myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack.
It also said he had a history of atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat – and leukemia. Police have previously admitted there was no evidence of foul play in Hogan’s death.
Last month, it emerged that Hogan was in the midst of a heartbreaking secret battle with fentanyl addiction that was laid bare in a remarkable final interview recorded shortly before his death.
