Ex-Employee Pleads Guilty To Stealing From Nonprofit

A former employee of the charitable arm of the Eastern Main Healthcare Systems (EMHS) pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing almost $56,000 from the nonprofit.

The employee, Laurena Cunningham, is scheduled to be sentenced next month, according to The Bangor Daily News. She faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to twice the amount stolen, and an order to pay restitution to EMHS.

Cunningham's role at EMHS was to hand off donations to a courier who would deposit that money into a bank account. Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County, accused Cunningham of skimming off cash donations and making up the difference with check donations she held back from earlier deposits. Before her arrest, Cunningham had worked form EMHS for several years in the organization's Bangor office.

According to a press release issued by EMHS at the time of her indictment in June, the organization realized that $56,183 in donations were diverted between November 2011 and March 2012. The missing funds were discovered during a routine accounting review.

You can read the full story in The Bangor Daily News.