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Evansville Woman Sent To Prison For Stealing Money From School Cafeteria Account

Last updated on Friday, May 12, 2017

(EVANSVILLE) - A federal judge Wednesday sentenced an Evansville woman who worked as the cafeteria manager at St. Benedict Catholic School to prison for stealing more than $149,000 from the cafeteria’s account.

United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced 50-year-old Mary Merrill received 12 months in prison after admitting to stealing the money from the cafeteria account at St. Benedict Cathedral School from 2008 until March 2015.

Merrill served as the school's cafeteria manager and controlled the cafeteria budget, managed accounts payable, purchased food and other supplies from vendors, and supervised employees and volunteers.

She plead guilty to embezzling the money from the cafeteria account by making fraudulent claims for reimbursement, issuing unauthorized checks to herself and credit card companies, and creating false check registries with vendor names to conceal her personal expenditures. During this time period, the school received federal funds as a participant in the Federal School Lunch Program.

The Evansville Police Department, United State Secret Service, and the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office investigated the case.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Kyle M. Sawa, Merrill must pay full restitution to the school and serve one year of supervised released following her sentence.

50-year-old Mary Merrill had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of theft.

Merrill must pay full restitution to the school and serve one year of supervised release following her sentence.

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