| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
SAN JOSE – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that Sherry Gehrung, 42, of Sunnyvale, California, was sentenced this afternoon in Federal Court in San Jose to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution for embezzling more than $328,000 from her former employer, Alza Corporation.
Ms. Gehrung pleaded guilty on July 7, 2008 to a wire fraud charge. According to the plea agreement, indictment, court filings, and statements made by counsel in open court, Ms. Gehrung was an administrative assistant and worked at Alza’s Mountain View, California facility. Alza is a pharmaceutical research and development company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Between February 2007 and October 2007, Ms. Gehrung fraudulently charged over $328,000 in personal expenses on an Alza corporate credit card, including paying for a 1968 Ford Mustang and 1969 Chevrolet Camaro automobile, the restoration of those automobiles, cosmetic surgery, a Hawaii and Tahiti cruise vacation, a granite kitchen countertop, a residential air-conditioning unit, and American Express gift cards.
Ms. Gehrung, 42, of Sunnyvale, was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 27, 2008.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Ware following a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1346. Judge also sentenced the defendant to a three year period of supervised release and ordered the defendant to pay over $328,000 in restitution. The defendant will begin serving her sentence in January 9, 2009.
Joseph A. Fazioli is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Legal Assistant Jeanne Carstensen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Mountain View Police Department.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 08-00114 JW
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