Thursday, May 16, 2013

Massachusetts Woman Gets Probation After Pleading Guilty To Embezzling $110K From Municipality; Makes State Weakest In Nation For Sentencing On Embezzlements

From The Boston Globe on 5.16.13:

A woman who embezzled more than $100,000 from Westfield while working in the city collector’s office has avoided prison time.

Susan Duffy was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Springfield to three years of probation, including a year of house arrest. She was also ordered to repay the money.
Prosecutors say she stole $110,000 from 2008 until 2011.
 
The 49-year-old Duffy pleaded guilty last year to embezzlement and false income tax reporting charges. She had faced up to 18 months in prison.
 
...
 
Duffy’s lawyer said his client was struggling with the death of her mother, a divorce and a child’s health problems. Duffy apologized in court.
 
 
Note from Chris:  This is more evidence demonstrating why Massachusetts ranked as one of the weakest states in terms of sentencing for these types of major embezzlements.   See The 2012 Marquet Report on Embezzlement.  In fact, with this sentence in a 2012 case, Massachusetts became the weakest (beating out Colorado) state for judicial consequences. 

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