BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
A federal judge sentenced a bookkeeper to three years in prison for embezzling $1.3 million from non-profit organizations that provide services to the homeless, disadvantaged children and the community, officials said.
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ordered Sharon Harrison, age 48, of Rosedale, Maryland, to pay restitution of $1.3 million, the total amount that she embezzled.
“Non-profit organizations that receive federal funds have a legal duty to use them for the intended purpose,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Sharon Harrison helped herself to federal funds intended to provide services for disadvantaged children and homeless families in Baltimore.”
According to her plea agreement, Harrison was a bookkeeper or fiscal manager for the following non-profit groups, all of which received federal funds to assist in their mission:
- Health, Education, Advocacy, Life Inc.from 2005 to March 2011
- Between Friends, Inc. from September 2008 to November 2011
- Jobs, Housing & Recovery, Inc. from May 20, 2013 to February 12, 2014
- Reservoir Hill Improvement Council from December 2012 to February 2014
Health, Education, Advocacy Life and Jobs, Housing & Recovery provided services for the homeless in Baltimore City. Between Friends assisted disadvantaged children to find foster homes and provided services to the children and their foster families, officials said.
Hill Improvement Council developed and implemented solutions to needs arising at the Reservoir Hill Community in Baltimore.
Harrison admitted that she embezzled: $226,888.34 from Health, Education, Advocacy; $784,781.17 from Between Friends; $161,750.14 from Jobs Housing & Recovery; and $133,178.04 from Hill Improvement Council, officials said.