A Springfield woman was sentenced to serve time in prison this week after she siphoned money from a Jacksonville daycare.
40-year-old Bridget Hanson was sentenced on Monday, October 23rd, to 12 months and one day in prison for wire fraud by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Sue E. Myerscough.
Hanson was indicted in October 2020 and pleaded guilty in January of this year.
At the sentencing, the government provided information gathered from a Jacksonville Police Department investigation that, while employed as the director of Our Redeemer Day Care in Jacksonville, Hansen devised a scheme to defraud the daycare by transferring money from the business’s bank accounts to her own bank accounts.
Hansen would also write checks on the daycare’s bank accounts to herself or to cash and use the money for personal expenses. While employed with Our Redeemer, Hansen stole over $45,000, which caused the daycare to cut back on the services it offered and contemplate closing the facility.
At the hearing, Judge Myerscough indicated that Hansen abused her position of trust and her actions caused, not only internal financial hardships to Our Redeemer Day Care but had additional consequences by limiting the day care’s ability to obtain grants and other resources that would enhance the programs for the children in their care.
As part of her sentence, Hansen was ordered to pay a total of $45,894.53 in restitution. The statutory penalties for wire fraud are up to 20 years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment.