Former Hospital Employee Sentenced to 12 Months in Federal Prison for Embezzling Over $100,000 in Intended Donations for the Jasper Community

EVANSVILLE-Michele M. Rose, 62, of Jasper, Indiana, has been sentenced to a year and one day in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, after pleading guilty to five counts of wire fraud. Rose was also ordered to pay $153,769 in restitution.

According to court documents, since 1991, Michele Rose was employed as Medical Staff Coordinator at a nonprofit health care organization headquartered in Jasper, Indiana. In this role, Rose had various responsibilities, including overseeing the medical staff checking account and preparing a monthly financial report of that checking account.

The medical staff checking account was funded through dues paid by physicians. The money contributed by the doctors was then donated to fund community initiatives including scholarships, food banks, and humane societies, as well as sponsoring events for local students such as after-prom celebrations, with a small portion used for operating expenses.

Between March 2011 and December 2020, Rose abused her position by writing fraudulent checks to herself out of the medical staff checking account, falsely representing that the money was intended to reimburse her for legitimate business expenditures. Rose then cashed the checks and used the money for personal living expenses.

Rose got signatures on the fraudulent checks lying to people with signature authority, telling them they were for legitimate business expenses. Once the blank checks were signed, Rose completed the checks by writing them to herself. Rose did not account for the fraudulent checks in the monthly financial reports that she prepared for her management. Over nearly a decade, Rose $153,769 from the medical staff fund. If Rose had not stolen the money, some or all of it would have been donated to the local community as intended.

"For nearly a decade, this woman stole from community-minded professionals who trusted her, lining her pockets at the expense of the Jasper community groups the doctors intended to support," said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. "Embezzlement and fraud by trusted insiders can have devastating effects on businesses and ordinary people. That's why our office will continue to prioritize federal prosecution of economic crimes. I commend the work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Jasper Police Department, alongside our federal prosecutor, to untangle this web of deceit and hold the defendant accountable for her crimes."

"The U.S. Secret Service values our partnership with the Jasper Police Department and the United States Attorney's Office - Southern District of Indiana," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott McGuckin, of the U.S. Secret Service's Indianapolis Field Office. "The Secret Service will continue to prioritize these types of investigations to ensure that there are consequences for anyone who violates the public's trust and takes advantage of charitable organizations."

"I am proud of our Detectives' work on this case, and our close collaboration with the United States Secret Service has been instrumental in successfully investigating cases of this caliber," said Lieutenant Dave Burger of the Jasper Police Department.

The United States Secret Service and Jasper Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Miller, who prosecuted this case.

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