The former finance director of a now shuttered charity pleaded guilty last week to one count of wire fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison for scamming cash over a five-year period.
Jessica Childs of Litchfield, Maine also faces a fine of up to $1 million and a restitution order. The exactly amount of the fraud was not disclosed.
A forensic audit in late 2015 of Women Unlimited in Augusta, Maine, discovered falsified transaction reports and cash advances. Childs was then terminated from the organization.
Lib Jamison, executive director of Women Unlimited when it closed in March 2016, told centralmaine.com that the organization’s closing was caused by the fraud but the actual amount taken was not available.
Childs had access to the organization’s bank accounts, credit cards and the financial system. According to prosecutors, Childs made personal purchases using the nonprofit’s credit card and used it to get cash advances to make personal purchases. She also allegedly paid her own credit card with nonprofit funds and bought access to online games, according to centralmaine.com.
For 28 years, Women Unlimited made available employment support for women and disadvantaged people and training for trade employment.
