Joseph H. Thompson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota | Department of Justice
Joseph H. Thompson, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota | Department of Justice
Destiny McKayla Combs, 37, has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling more than $2.7 million from her employer, according to an announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. Combs served as the Accounting Manager for a surrogacy agency and an affiliated law firm, where she used her position to misappropriate company funds.
“Combs treated her workplace like her own personal slot machine,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Combs’s crime is part of a disturbing wave of fraud sweeping across Minnesota. From private companies to public programs, fraud has seeped into every corner of our state. We will continue to attack this fraud plague with everything we’ve got at the federal level.”
Court documents show that Combs was responsible for managing the finances of both companies for about nine years, including handling taxes and financial statements. In 2022, due to the trust placed in her by management, the owner agreed to sell the surrogacy agency to Combs upon his retirement scheduled for 2023. However, before the sale could be completed, Combs resigned abruptly and moved to Florida.
An investigation found that between February 2019 and June 2023, Combs embezzled approximately $2.72 million from the businesses by using company funds to pay off personal credit card bills incurred through gambling activities. She disguised these payments as business expenses in company records and exploited her autonomy within the organization.
During pretrial supervision, Combs violated conditions of her release by lying to her probation officer and traveling without authorization to several cities including New York City; Tucson, Arizona; Miami, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Seattle, Washington.
Judge John M. Gerrard presided over sentencing in U.S. District Court and cited Combs’s repeated violations during pretrial release—including unauthorized trips to Las Vegas—in determining the sentence.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy prosecuted the case.
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