HAMMOND – Tanya Januszewski, 51 years old, of Cedar Lake, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred. Januszewski was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $481,197 in restitution. “Tanya Januszewski defrauded her employer—a local business in northwest Indiana—out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and will spend 15 months incarcerated as a result. The Defendant worked as a cashier for a local scrap metal business and used her position to defraud the company out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. From October 2022 to June 2024, Januszewski created hundreds of false transaction records in the company’s electronic sales records and stole cash from the company’s cash drawer in amounts matching each false transaction. Over the course of her scheme, Januszewski defrauded the company out of $481,197, and she was ordered to repay the victim. Her employer trusted her with company funds, and she chose to betray that trust by stealing the company’s money for her own personal benefit. Thanks to the partnership of the United States Secret Service, Hobart Police Department and Assistant United States Attorney Kevin F. Wolff, the Defendant has been held accountable,” said United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.