Former CEO of Connecticut Non-Profit Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Embezzlement Scheme

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL MEAKEM, 59, of Norwich, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 24 months imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release, a $100,000 fine, and $683,202 in restitution for embezzling from his former employer.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Meakem was the president and chief executive officer of the Center for Financial Training (“CFT”), a Farmington-based non-profit organization that provided continuing education to employees in the financial services industry.  Between approximately 2013 and 2020, Meakem embezzled $683,202 from CFT’s credit card accounts and bank accounts and used the funds on personal expenses, including alimony payments, meals, cruises, other vacations, and gambling at Connecticut’s casinos.

On April 30, 2021, Meakem pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Meakem, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on October 1, 2021.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation amd the Norwich Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan N. Francis.