September 3, 2026 – LOS ANGELES, CA – A former credit and accounting manager of family-owned women’s 
clothing company Karen Kane has been charged with illegally funneling over $2.56 million in company funds into her personal bank accounts over a 10-year period.
“Stealing millions of dollars from your employer as a trusted employee for over a decade is a cruel and calculating criminal deception,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “White collar criminals who abuse positions of trust for their own greed are a clear threat to public safety and put anyone or any company with an electronic bank account at risk. Make no mistake: If you steal, embezzle, tax evade, money launder or commit any type of financial crime, you will be investigated and prosecuted. Major fraud has major consequences."
Donna Faye Bui (26CJCF04447)
Donna Faye Bui (45) is charged in case 26CJCF04447 with 106 felonies: 89 counts of money laundering, 10 counts of grand theft, five counts of filing false tax returns, one count of failing to file a tax return and one count of unauthorized computer access. The Office further alleged white collar crime and money laundering enhancements.
Karen Kane, Inc. is a women’s clothing company based in Vernon. Bui was employed as the company’s credit and accounting manager between September 2015 and February 2024. Bui oversaw and was the only person with electronic access to certain company bank accounts. Bui was also responsible for paying company bills.
Bui is accused of illegally transferring approximately $2,562,941 from company accounts to her personal bank accounts across hundreds of transactions over a 10-year period. She allegedly attempted to conceal her crime by laundering the stolen money through a series of smaller electronic transactions.
Bui also allegedly failed to report the stolen income to California tax authorities.
The alleged theft was discovered when the company’s new president noticed suspicious activities and undertook an audit of the company’s accounts in February 2024.
Bui pleaded not guilty at arraignment on August 26. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for October 19 in Department 37 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
At arraignment, the Court found that Bui was not a threat to public safety, set bail at $0 and released her on her own recognizance over the prosecution’s objection. Prosecutors had requested the Court set bail at $875,000.
District Attorney Hochman stated: “Contrary to what certain judges may believe, white collar crimes like embezzlement, money laundering, and tax evasion that occur over 10 years are not ‘victimless crimes.’ Companies are deleteriously affected, which in turn affects their ability to operate and employ people; taxes are evaded and not paid which impacts the fairness of our self-reporting tax system; and financial systems are co-opted for criminal purposes. Any individual who commits such acts should receive a meaningful bail, which did not happen in this case.”
The charges carry a potential sentence of decades in state prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Steve Dickman of the White Collar Crime Division. It is being investigated by the Vernon Police Department with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Franchise Tax Board and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.
Christopher Butler (25CJCF08298)
“The case against Donna Bui was filed just weeks after another defendant was ordered to stand trial for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from their long-term employer, the Painted Turtle. My Office will continue to be relentless in rooting out fraud using our full power to investigate, arrest and prosecute financial criminals,” District Attorney Hochman added.
Christopher Butler will face trial on charges that he embezzled $5.2 million from the Painted Turtle, a nonprofit specialty camp for children with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions, while he was CEO from 2018 to 2025.
Butler (50) is charged in case 25CJCF08298 with nine felony counts of grand theft, five felony counts of forgery and one felony count of fraudulent use of a computer.
He was held to answer on all charges on August 6. A pretrial conference is set for Sept. 16 in Department 123 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Butler is being held on $300,000 bail.
If convicted as charged, Butler faces more than 18 years in state prison.
The case also is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Steve Dickman of the White Collar Crime Division. The District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation is the investigating agency.
The charges filed in these cases are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office