Assistant to Investment Firm Chief Pleads Guilty

A one-time personal assistant for the managing partner of a private equity investment firm pleaded guilty yesterday to embezzlement.

Fatima Monahan, 36, began working as the personal assistant for the founder of Caxton-Iseman Capital LLC, Frederick Iseman, in August 2005, earning $125,000 a year, until she was fired in November 2006, according to the office of the district attorney of New York County.

It said that an investigation found that between June 2006 until Ms. Monahan's termination, she had charged $45,000 to Mr. Iseman's credit card for her own personal expenses — including high-end clothing, shoes, food, and other household purchases, as well as gift cards from the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman. She made the majority of these purchases over the Internet.

As part of Ms. Monahan's plea, she will pay $45,000 in restitution, and will be sentenced to five years probation on September 12, the district attorney's office said.