Ex-employee of Ky. economic development group sentenced for $142K misuse of company card
A former employee of the now-defunct Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Foundation was sentenced to federal prison time by the U.S. District Court for wire fraud.
Lisa Gadberry was sentenced to 10 months in prison Monday for misspending $142,000 from the former agency over the course of five years, according to court documents.
Gadberry’s plea agreement says she used the company’s credit card on personal expenses including vacations, retail purchases, gasoline, electricity, cell phone payments, restaurants and entertainment between November 2015 to May 2019.
The Somerset Pulaski County Development Foundation was dissolved shortly after fraud was uncovered, and reemerged as the new organization, the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority.
In a news release, SPEDA noted they have anxiously awaited an outcome in the case since 2019 — when the group “uncovered waste, fraud, abuse and dereliction of duties” by several of the foundation’s former employees.
“The level of abuse was shocking and devastating for our new organization and our community,” SPEDA said in the release. “The hundreds of thousands so frivolously spent on vacations, personal care items, and personal services were taxpayer dollars, dollars that we, as public employees, are called upon to be good stewards of to benefit all people in Somerset-Pulaski County.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Smith said Gadberry abused the public’s trust because of her ability to commit the crime by directing revenue on monitored accounts she managed.
Gadberry admitted she structured the finances in order to avoid detection, according to prosecutor’s sentencing memorandum.
Defense attorney Gregory Ousley noted in his sentencing memorandum that Gadberry should receive a lesser sentence of six months probation. Gadberry argued that everyone connected to the former board had access to the account, and she had no special duty entrusted to her.
Judge Robert Weir sentenced Gadberry within the recommended guidelines to 10 months, court documents said. She is ordered to pay $142,874 in restitution.
A civil complaint filed against Gadberry in 2020 states Gadberry allegedly used the foundation’s credit card to pay for a vacation rental in Florida, a Bark Box subscription, a veterinary hospital bill, bowling in Texas and expenditures at Cumberland Orthodontics.
The federal sentencing brings relief to the taxpayers of Somerset-Pulaski County, SPEDA said, but their work against other former employees in the civil complaint will continue.
Other employees listed in the civil suit include Mark Bastin and former director Martin Shearer.
“What was stolen is much greater than any tangible item or physical dollar amount,” the release said. “It was the public’s trust. We hope to restore that in our community by fighting for what is right and pursuing every avenue to hold accountable the people who took that away.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2024 at 12:11 PM.
