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Nanny admits to taking $280,000 from Boston couple

A former nanny pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal bank fraud charges for stealing more than $280,000 from the Boston couple she worked for and spending it on diamond necklaces, high-end watches, a truck, and trips to the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Disney World.

Stephanie Lee Fox.WBZ-TV

Stephanie Lee Fox, 30, of Randolph admitted she stole 65 personal checks from her employers — a Bain & Co. executive and her husband — over 16 months as she cared for their two children. She forged the woman's signature, cashed the checks in amounts ranging from $750 to $9,785, and shredded bank statements when they arrived in the mail in an effort to avoid detection.

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Fox pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud. Her plea included a forfeiture order requiring her to turn over all assets up to the nearly $282,000 she stole.

"She's taken responsibility for it," said Boston attorney Joseph Perullo, who represents Fox, who has a lengthy history of passing bad checks. "She's going to move past this, I hope."

He said Fox was cooperating with the couple she stole from, Grace C. Heintz and C. Grover Heintz, and is unemployed but will try to repay the money.

Assistant US Attorney Mark Balthazard said Fox has turned over three Movado watches and a diamond pendant she bought with the stolen money.

US District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Feb. 18. It is unclear how much time, if any, Fox will spend in prison. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed to recommend that Fox serve three months less than the sentencing recommendation made by court officials, which has yet to be determined.

Perullo said Fox probably could spend 22 to 44 months in prison, based on federal sentencing guidelines, but the defense may argue she should serve less. Perullo said Fox has a mental health disorder that causes her to act impulsively.

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When questioned by the judge Tuesday about her competency to change her plea, Fox said she recently underwent a mental health evaluation and is awaiting the results.

Fox was hired by the Heintzes in February 2013 and started stealing their checks about 14 months later, according to court documents. The scheme went unnoticed until August, when Grace Heintz, a partner in Bain's Boston office, discovered large withdrawals had been made from the Bank of America checking account she shared with her husband. She confronted Fox, who confessed to the theft, according to court documents, and was arrested last month.

In an affidavit filed in state court, Grace Heintz wrote that Fox admitted she drafted the checks, "however, she wanted to be sure I was aware that she did nothing to harm the children and that she loved the children."

Grace Heintz sued Fox in Suffolk Superior Court in an effort to recoup her losses.

Earlier this month, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Brian A. Davis ruled in Heintz's favor and ordered Fox to repay Heintz $291,086, an amount that will grow at 12 percent interest until the debt is paid, according to court records.

In 2007, Fox was caught using credit cards she had stolen from customers at a Braintree restaurant where she worked to buy tickets to concerts and Red Sox games, gift cards, and other items. She was sentenced to two years probation.

She was also convicted in 2012 of larceny by check charges across Greater Boston.

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Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymurph.