Gourmet foodstuffs are big business, especially if you're skimming off the top of that triple cream brie. Lisa Sackie, 47, yesterday pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges stemming from her embezzlement of $1.1 million from Santa Barbara Bay Foods. Between 2004 and 2010, Sackie, who served as the Vice President and Controller of the company, wrote several bogus checks supposedly to pay for legitimate business expenses but instead used the funds to pay off her bills and live large.

In the company's ledgers, Sackie claimed the checks had been written to legitimate business entities, including over $750,000 to Challenge Dairy,” according to federal prosecutors.

Despite its breezy California name, Santa Barbara Bay Foods is owned by Texas-based Future Food Brands and specializes in dips and baked potato toppings.

As a result of yesterday's guilty pleas, Sackie faces a maximum statutory sentence of 40 years in federal prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7th.

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