Former hospital employee sentenced for embezzling more than $100,000

HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) – A Jasper woman will spend some time in federal prison after being sentenced for embezzling more than $100,000 from likely donations to the Jasper community.

Michele Rose, 62, will serve one year and a day followed by a year of supervised release after pleading guilty to five counts of wire fraud. She was originally facing up to 30 years if convicted.

According to court documents, Rose was employed as a Medical Staff Coordinator at a nonprofit health organization where she had responsibilities of including overseeing the medical staff checking account and preparing a monthly financial report of said checking account.

Authorities state the account was funded through dues paid by physicians, and the money contributed by donors was then donated to fund community initiatives including scholarships, food banks and humane societies plus sponsoring events for local students such as after-prom celebrations, with a small portion used for operating expenses.

Officials state between March 2011 and December 2020, Rose abused her position by writing fraudulent checks to herself out of the medical staff checking account, falsely representing that the money was intended to reimburse her for legitimate business expenditures. She would then cash the checks and used the money for personal living expenses.

Officials say Rose got signatures on the fraudulent checks lying to people with signature authority, telling them they were for legitimate business expenses. They further explain once the blank checks were signed, Rose would complete them by writing them to herself and did not account for the fraudulent checks in the monthly financial reports that she prepared for her management.

The total amount that was embezzled was $153,769. Rose was ordered to pay that amount in restitution. Officials say if the money was used for its intended purpose, some, or all, would have been donated to the local community instead.

“For nearly a decade, this woman stole from community-minded professionals who trusted her, lining her pockets at the expense of the Jasper community groups the doctors intended to support,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Embezzlement and fraud by trusted insiders can have devastating effects on businesses and ordinary people. That’s why our office will continue to prioritize federal prosecution of economic crimes. I commend the work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Jasper Police Department, alongside our federal prosecutor, to untangle this web of deceit and hold the defendant accountable for her crimes.”

“The U.S. Secret Service values our partnership with the Jasper Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office – Southern District of Indiana,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott McGuckin, of the U.S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office. “The Secret Service will continue to prioritize these types of investigations to ensure that there are consequences for anyone who violates the public’s trust and takes advantage of charitable organizations.”

“I am proud of our Detectives’ work on this case, and our close collaboration with the United States Secret Service has been instrumental in successfully investigating cases of this caliber,” said Lieutenant Dave Burger of the Jasper Police Department.

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