Former St. Joseph’s Hospital Employee Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

SYRACUSE, NY –United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced that BONNIE SIMSON, 41, of Manlius, NY entered a plea of guilty in U.S. District Court in Syracuse on April 30, 2013, to an indictment charging her with one count of embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(A).

Ms. Simson faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a fine of $250,000 and a term of supervised release of three years. From December of 2000 until March, 2011, Simson was employed as the manager of the Patient Telephone and Television Services Program ("PTTSP") at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, New York. During that time, Simson stole currency from envelopes containing payments made by individual patients to the PTTSP and then inaccurately reported the amount of currency payments made by the patients in order to conceal her embezzlement. The government has charged that Ms. Simson embezzled in excess of $800,000, but Ms. Simson maintains that the amount of stolen funds is lower. The amount of stolen funds will be determined at sentencing.

This case resulted from an investigation conducted by the Electronic Crimes Task Force staffed by members of the United States Secret Service, Syracuse Resident Office, and Syracuse Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll. Sentencing is currently set for September 13,2013 at 10:00 in Utica, New York.

All press inquiries may be made to Executive Assistant United States Attorney John G. Duncan, who may reached at (315) 448-0672.