WASHINGTON - A 46-year-old Maryland woman, Jacqueline Nugent, has pleaded guilty to Mail Fraud in connection with the theft of more than $21,000 from the Washington Hospital Center through a fraudulent paycheck scheme, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Gregory Campbell, Jr., Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General, Office of Investigations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, jointly announced today.

Nugent entered her guilty plea earlier today in U.S. District Court before the Honorable Paul L. Friedman. Nugent faces a statutory penalty of up to twenty years in jail, three years of supervised release, a fine and restitution when sentenced on January 15, 2009.

During today’s plea hearing, Nugent – who was known as Jacqueline Wilkinson at work – admitted that she engaged in a scheme that enabled her to steal money from the Washington Hospital Center during the years 2002 and 2003. In those years, Nugent had a job that allowed her to hire “contract employees” for the Washington Hospital Center. Nugent was also responsible for submitting the paperwork necessary to ensure that the contract employees were paid for their work.

Nugent defrauded the Washington Hospital Center by creating fraudulent time sheets and Check Request Vouchers for a fictitious employee, which caused the hospital to mail paychecks in the name of that fictitious employee, who never performed any work for the hospital. The fictitious employee was the daughter of one of Nugent’s friends. Between March 2002 and July 2003, Nugent created fake time sheets and submitted 14 fraudulent Check Request Vouchers requesting that the Washington Hospital Center pay the fictitious employee. All of the checks bear endorsements in the fictitious employee’s name, even though she never endorsed any of the checks. Instead, some of the checks were endorsed by the fictitious employee’s mother, and the others were endorsed by Nugent, who forged the fictitious employee’s signature. Each of the fraudulent paychecks was mailed to an address that Nugent selected. Nugent or her friend then received the paychecks and obtained the funds associated with the paychecks to use for their own benefit. The fraudulent checks totaled $21,048.02.

In announcing today’s guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor, Inspector in Charge Campbell, and Inspector General Levinson commended Postal Inspector Jan Kostka, of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Special Agent Nunzio Orlando, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Legal Assistants LaToya Davenport and LaToya Wade, and Paralegal Assistant Phaylyn Hunt, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Yette, who is handling the case.