United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

FORMER DISD EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON
AND ORDERED TO PAY $64,000 RESTITUTION

DALLAS — Marsha August Ollison, a former employee of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), who was convicted at trial in March of theft from an organization receiving federal funds, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay also ordered Ollison to pay $64,000 restitution to the Dallas Independent School District. She must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on November 27, 2007.

The government presented evidence at trial that Ollison, of The Colony, Texas, worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Superintendent’s office, and was an agent of the DISD. DISD issued credit cards, also known as procurement cards (P-Cards), for use by its employees. DISD funds were used to pay for purchases made with P-Cards, and employees, including Ollison, were instructed in a Procurement Card Manual that P-Cards were “for district purchases only.” The government also presented evidence that DISD employees, including Ollison, signed Procurement Cardholder Agreement Forms that stated, “I understand that under no circumstances will I use the procurement card to make personal purchases, either for others, or myself.”

The government also presented evidence that during 2004, 2005, and 2006, Ollison embezzled property by purchasing numerous items for her own personal use and for the use of another person with a DISD P-Card. For example, Ollison bought, among other items, 65 vases of varying color, shape and size, women’s clothing including underwear, accessories and a leather jacket, personal products such as perfume, makeup, contact lens solution and hair spray, and household items including candles, wine goblets, bedding, and a queen-sized therapeutic mattress cover.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education - Office of Inspector General.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson.

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