Wednesday, April 15, 1998 | 10:06 a.m.
A former executive director of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with embezzlement of about $114,000 from the nonprofit group.
Gina Gail Garcia pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben. McKibben ordered Garcia free on her own recognizance.
The action was part of a plea agreement entered into court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Sullivan said. Details of the case were sealed.
The fraud was discovered last year during an internal audit, after which officials turned the case over to the Secret Service, Sullivan said.
"The Secret Service was involved because when (the foundation) conducted an internal audit, they turned the matter over to Secret Service," he said.
Garcia has since resigned from the post she held for 3 1/2 years.
From late 1993 to early 1997, while employed as executive director of the foundation, Garcia embezzled funds by writing checks to herself and depositing the checks in personal bank accounts, Sullivan said.
She covered her tracks by falsifying company records and misrepresenting the financial status of the local chapter to the foundation's national organization, he said.
Foundation officials discovered the embezzlement through an internal audit, Sullivan said.
Mollie Miller, a board member for the foundation, told Channel 8 Eyewitness News that it was "unfortunate."
"It's always unfortunate when you trust someone, that a situation like this would arise," she said. "I don't know that I can ever explain the depth of the disappointment on everyone's part."
Foundations executives said as soon as the allegations were learned, they informed their corporate and private donors.
The foundation is known for its annual Monopoly contest and walk-a-thon.
Garcia is free until her sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 14, Sullivan said.
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