In U.S. District Court yesterday, a Blairsville woman pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $600,000 from the medical practice for which she worked.
63-year-old Sandra Jo Doak pleaded guilty to two offenses: Mail fraud and filing false income tax returns. Doak was the bookkeeper for the medical office of Dr. Matthew Klain. She embezzled funds totaling $592,833.30, including writing almost $537,000 worth of unauthorized checks to herself; more than $26,500 in checks to pay for personal expenses; and almost $29,500 on the company credit card for other personal expenses. Between 2014 and 2019, she also concealed the embezzled income from the IRS on her tax returns, resulting in a tax loss of almost $124,000. She was accused of using the money for vacations, sports and concert tickets, and payment of her own personal debt. The vacations included a $14,000 trip to Disney World.
The charges were originally filed in Indiana County Court, but in May, District Attorney Bob Manzi withdrew the charges and handed the case over to federal court because state law would only permit prosecution on the theft charges, while federal law enabled the addition of the tax evasion and mail fraud charges. Federal sentencing can also allow for restitution of the lost funds.
Federal Judge Cathy Bisson scheduled sentencing for December 9th. The maximum penalty is 23 years in prison, plus a fine of as much as $752,250. The sentence will be determined by the seriousness of the offense, and any prior criminal history.
