Earlier this month, Dorothy Shields Talbot, was sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal over $375,000 in donations from her employer, United Way of Central Maryland.
According Talbot’s plea agreement, the United Way of Central Maryland was a non-profit charitable organization located in Baltimore. United Way received charitable donations and disbursed funds as directed by donors to support charities in the central Maryland area of Baltimore City and the counties of Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford and Howard. From September 2001 until December 2010, Talbot worked in United Way’s finance department and was responsible for opening the mail and depositing donations into a corporate operating bank account.
According to the plea agreement and other court documents, in 2003 or 2004, Talbot was granted signatory authority over a separate account maintained by United Way’s Employee Activities Committee, to handle the employee event funds. On December 10, 2004, the Employee Activities Committee met and decided to close their account. According to the minutes of that meeting, Talbot was responsible for closing the account.
Instead of closing the account, Talbot admitted that from December 2004 through December 2010, she deposited donor checks issued to United Way into that account, rather than into the corporate operating account. Talbot caused the mailing address for the employee activities checking account to be changed from United Way’s office to her home. Talbot withdrew $375,232.16 of the monies deposited into the checking account, through ATM withdrawals, debits and by writing checks to herself and others. Talbot admitted that she used the $375,232.16 for her own personal benefit, including luxury items for her family.
On top of Talbot’s almost 4 years in prison she has also been ordered to pay restitution of $375,232.16 – Source.
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