Diann Cattani embezzled more than $400,000 from her employer and spent 18 months in federal prison for her crime. On Feb. 14, from 3:30-5:00 p.m., Cattani will speak to College of Business Administration students at the Lied Center for Performing Arts about how she crossed the boundary from being a respected business manager to becoming a convicted felon.
Cattani grew up in a family oriented home where religious and conservative ideals dominated the expectations of how one should behave. She was an honor student and all-American athlete. Cattani then entered a career in business where her hard work led to a prestigious position within an Atlanta-based consulting firm.
After Cattani reached a position of trust in her company, she also realized that she could use that trust to steal money from the company.
“I knew I could get away with anything and I became a runaway train,” Cattani said.
After living with the burden of embezzling money from her firm, Cattani began to feel the pressure of guilt building inside her. One day she came home and heard a guest on the Oprah show say, “You cannot be a whole person with that kind of secret.”
Cattani looked at her two daughters and knew that she could not continue to be a good mother to her children with the burden she was carrying. She turned herself in to authorities and was sent to prison for the next year and a half.
After being released from prison, Cattani began a new life sharing her story with audiences to try and help them not repeat the same mistakes that she made.
Cattani’s talk at the Lied Center will be in conjunction with the release of a new business ethics code that has been developed by CBA students.
— Sheri Irwin Gish, CBA
