Former city employee Sheryl Carroll was sentenced
Monday to 40 months in prison for wire fraud.
The
sentence is just one month shy of the maximum under federal sentencing
guidelines.
In
addition, Carroll was ordered to pay full restitution to the city and complete
100 hours of community service. Carroll will receive a letter in four to six
weeks advising her of when to report to prison.
“We believe this is a fair and just sentence,”
City Administrator Wendy Gabriel said. “Carroll committed a crime and in the
process violated the trust of the public and of her co-workers. She absolutely
deserves this punishment.”
Carroll pleaded guilty Nov. 5 in United States District Court to
six counts of wire fraud. Carroll worked for the city as a payroll coordinator
since 2002. According to a plea agreement, in 2007 she began to divert money from
City of Coeur d’Alene bank accounts to her own personal account instead of
transferring those funds to vendors. The total amount she wired to herself was
$365,000.
“City
Finance and Legal employees worked tirelessly for days to bring the crime to
light,” Gabriel said. “This was a complex embezzlement. It involved balancing
multiple books, a high level of planning, sophistication and manipulation.”
During
the city’s investigation, Carroll was repeatedly asked about the missing money
and failed to provide answers.
“She
lied to us for four days,” Gabriel said. “When we put the pieces together
ourselves, only then, knowing she could no longer lie, did she go to the City
Attorney and admit she did something wrong.”
In
the wake of the crime, the Finance Department has instituted more procedures to
prevent fraud, including additional security bank checks on city checks and
more approvals on wire transfers. Outside of payroll, there are no more automated
transactions. The Department is also setting up an account that will allow
vendors to withdraw money. This way, both the city and the vendor would
authorize the withdrawal.
