Springfield, Ill. – Rebecca Lynn Sargeant, 48, of Auburn, Illinois, was sentenced today to serve 13 months in federal prison for having embezzled $168,000 in government funds when she was employed by the Springfield Housing Authority, as announced by Rodger A. Heaton, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois. U.S. District Judge Jeanne E. Scott further ordered Sargeant to pay restitution to the Springfield Housing Authority in the amount of $168,000, and serve three years supervised release following completion of her prison term. Sargeant was ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on July 1, 2008, to begin serving her prison term.

Sargeant worked as a data processing clerk for the Springfield Housing Authority from August 2003 to September 2006. During a court hearing in August 2007, Sargeant admitted that she wrote checks to herself, from the Housing Authority’s Section 8 account, using her maiden name of Williams, from December 2004 through September 8, 2006. The Section 8 program provides federal money for housing assistance to low income individuals.

The charge was investigated by the FBI in cooperation with the Springfield Housing Authority and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore.