A federal judge has sentenced Isha Yumakia Warr, 53, of Columbia, South Carolina, to about three years in federal prison for wire fraud. Reports differ on the exact length: WIS-TV and ABC Columbia describe it as three years, while WACH reports 37 months. She diverted more than $253,000 from the small Lexington County business that employed her as a bookkeeper, according to South Carolina news outlets WACH, WIS-TV and ABC Columbia, which reported the sentencing Aug. 26, 2026.
Warr worked as the company’s bookkeeper from June 2023 to July 2024. Shortly after she was hired, she convinced the business to switch to a new accounting software system. She then used her access to that system to route company payments directly into her own personal account instead of paying the business’s outstanding invoices.
Key facts
- Who: Isha Yumakia Warr, 53, of Columbia, South Carolina
- Role: bookkeeper at a small Lexington County business, June 2023 to July 2024
- Charge: wire fraud
- Amount diverted: $253,855.48
- Sentence: about three years in federal prison, plus three years of supervised release
- Restitution: $253,855.48, plus a $100 special assessment
- Reported: Aug. 26, 2026, by WACH, WIS-TV and ABC Columbia
Timeline
- June 2023: Warr is hired as the company’s bookkeeper and convinces it to switch to a new accounting software system
- June 2023-July 2024: She uses her access to route company payments into her own account instead of paying invoices
- July 2024: Her time as the company’s bookkeeper ends
- Aug. 26, 2026: WACH, WIS-TV and ABC Columbia report she was sentenced to about three years in federal prison
How the theft was uncovered
The scheme came to light when the business carried out a routine review of its finances and turned up a pattern of unauthorized payments and unpaid bills. A forensic accountant brought in to trace the money confirmed the same amount had moved from the company’s account into Warr’s personal account.
The sentence
The judge sentenced Warr to about three years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $253,855.48 in restitution — the full amount she took — plus a $100 special assessment. The available reporting does not say when Warr is due to report to prison or whether she has begun serving the sentence.
Wire fraud, not embezzlement
Although the scheme is often described informally as embezzlement, the formal federal charge against Warr was wire fraud, not a state embezzlement statute. The identity of the business she worked for, the presiding judge, the case number, and whether she pleaded guilty or was convicted at trial have not been made public in coverage of the case. A search for an official Department of Justice press release or court record naming Warr turned up nothing; the reports cited here came from local television stations, not a primary court source.
Who investigated the case
One local station, WACH, reported that the U.S. Secret Service and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Other outlets that covered the sentencing did not name any investigating agency.