A Ladysmith woman who misappropriated more than $700,000 while working for the Rusk County Health and Human Services will spend five years in prison.
Sandra Stiner, 66, pleaded guilty Aug. 12 in federal court to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge William Conley sentenced her to three years in prison for the wire fraud charge and a consecutive two years for the aggravated identity theft charge, according to a news release from Scott Blader, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Stiner worked at the Rusk County Health and Human Service Department for 42 years before retiring in January 2019. She misappropriated $702,351 from June 2010 to January 2019 by creating and submitting fictitious invoices from a home-based therapy company for nonexistent intensive in-home autism services to twin boys.
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In addition to creating a nominee bank account, email account and fictitious invoices, Stiner admitted to creating bogus financial statements for the company using the name of a legitimate CPA firm. She also forged the signature of a doctor on the direct deposit authorization form to ensure payments came to her and not the real owner of the company.
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At her plea hearing on Aug. 12, Stiner admitted that she used, without lawful authority, identification from real people and real entities to create documentation that appeared legitimate and provided cover to support her fraud scheme.
Conley ordered Stiner to report to prison Jan. 6, saying he was holding her responsible for the decisions she made
The charges against Stiner were the result of an investigation conducted by the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
