Destiny McKayla Combs, 37, has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $2.7 million from a Minnesota surrogacy agency and affiliated law firm, where she worked as an accounting manager.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, Combs exploited her trusted position by secretly funneling company funds to pay off her personal credit card bills, which had been accrued due to an online gambling addiction. Over the course of 52 months, she disguised these payments as legitimate business expenses, totaling $2,723,025.
“Combs treated her workplace like her own personal slot machine,” said Thompson. “Her actions reflect a growing trend of fraud across Minnesota, and we will continue to address it aggressively at the federal level.”
Court records revealed that Combs was once viewed as a potential buyer of the surrogacy agency in 2023. However, before the transaction could take place, she abruptly resigned and moved to Florida.
While on pretrial release, Combs violated court-ordered travel restrictions by visiting cities like Las Vegas and New York City—behavior that Judge John M. Gerrard highlighted during sentencing.
In addition to her prison term, Combs will serve three years of supervised release. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy.
