Bangor, Maine: Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Carolyn J. Saunders, 57, of Orland, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 16 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for embezzlement from a health care practice. She was also ordered to pay full restitution to the victims of her crime. She pleaded guilty on Sept. 16, 2016.
According to court records, from November 2011 until April 2015, Saunders, while employed as a financial administrator for Coastal Eye Care, PA and Coastal Eye Surgery Center, LLC, embezzled over $142,000 by stealing cash from the practices’ bank deposits.
At sentencing, Judge Woodcock noted that her criminal actions were aggravated by her spreading of falsehoods about her former employer after being fired for the thefts. Judge Woodcock found these defamatory actions to be “deplorable and egregious," and concluded that the defendant stole money because she was “fundamentally dishonest."
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Ellsworth Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
