Former Meharry Medical College Employee Pleads Guilty To Theft Of Federal Program Funds

Carolyn McCain-Davis, 54, of Spring Hill, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on Friday to embezzling funds from a federal program while employed at Meharry Medical College (“MMC”), announced Jack Smith, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to facts presented at the plea hearing, MMC receives funding from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services through the National Institutes of Health. McCain-Davis was employed at MMC as a grants development specialist and was responsible for approving invoices and processing payment requests relating to MMC’s employees and vendors.

McCain-Davis admitted that between August 2009 and May 2013, she devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the United States by submitting false invoices, as an agent of MMC, from companies that were not legitimate vendors nor was any service provided to MMC. The false invoices were often submitted under the names of companies set up by McCain-Davis and she approved and submitted payment requests and directed payments to bank accounts under her control.

McCain-Davis also processed reimbursement payments to herself for expenses that were never incurred and intercepted re-imbursement payments to other employees, forged the signatures of the payees and deposited those checks into bank accounts under her control or under the control of a close relative. McCain-Davis fraudulently obtained over $133,000 through the operation of this scheme.

McCain-Davis faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three-year term of supervised release. She will be sentenced on August 9, 2017.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie N. Toussaint is prosecuting the case.