ANCHORAGE BOOKKEEPER SENTENCED TO 10 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON
FOR EMBEZZLING MONEY FROM A LOCAL PHARMACY

Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen announced that on July 22, 2008, Bernadine Dee Sponaugle, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to ten months imprisonment for her conviction of embezzling over $65,000 from Geneva Woods Pharmacy, Inc., which is defined under federal law as a health care benefit program. The Court also ordered that the period of imprisonment be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered Sponaugle to pay restitution in the amount of $35,348.40 and a special assessment of $100. Both the restitution and special assessment are due and payable immediately.

United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess imposed the sentence on Sponaugle, age 59.

According to information presented to the court by a representative of the victim and Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Cooper, Jr., Sponaugle engaged in the embezzlement over a lengthy period of time, and in the course of her criminal conduct destroyed and altered company records to hide her crime. The victim stated that because of the destruction of records, the actual loss to the company can not be determined.

Mr. Cohen commended the Anchorage Police Department Property Crimes Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s White Collar Crime Squad for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Sponaugle. Assistance was also provided by the Alaska Health Care Fraud Task Force.