Former Three Rivers Director gets 33 months
Jun. 15 — A former director at Three Rivers Medical Center in Louisa will be serving nearly three years in the federal penitentiary, in addition to being required to cough up $781,699.82 in restitution.
Federal District Court Judge David Bunning sentenced Lashea N. Hudnall, 36, to serve 33 months on Monday for a wire fraud conviction. She faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.
According to federal court records, Hudnall used her role as the director of materials management to buy scalpels, shears, printer cartridges and other supplies, then hock them on eBay to pocket the cash.
Her lawyer, Jeremy Clark, argued in a sentencing memorandum filed in late May that Hudnall should be sentenced to the lower end of the sentencing guidelines, which were pegged at 33 to 41 months.
Due to Hudnall’s lack of criminal history, her compliance with bond conditions, her acceptance of responsibility and her efforts to refinance her home to make a $60,000 payment in restitution, Clark argued that a deviation to less than two years in prison would be in order.
Clark said while Hudnall never suffered from drug abuse or alcoholism, the stealing of the money “became an addiction to her for a period of time.”
“The last few months of the activity became a burden that began to weigh on her mental health,” Clark wrote. “She was actually relieved when it was finally over.”
Federal prosecutors argued that a middle-to-bottom end of the sentencing guidelines was appropriate for the case, citing similar schemes and sentencings in other cases.
“Hudnall perpetrated a scheme lasting more than five years, stealing from an institution that trusted her and enriching herself extravagantly through the theft,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Smith.
Among the cases Smith cited was that of Leon Smith, a former sports manager and UK Wildcats Basketball staffer who stole $1.3 million from clients, Lexington Pharmacist Adam Sloan, who stole $1.1 million from a charity and former Ashland banker Martin Ross, who stole $1.4 million by creating fake customers to take out loans.
Smith and Ross received 51-month sentences, while Ross got 75 months in the slammer.
She was stealing so much it became a burden. This lawyer has to be a comedian for his night job. Hope she stays in jail until she pays it all back.
A thief is a thief. She won’t pull all that time and she won’t pay back all that money. These people that think they are smarter than every one cracks me up. There is always that one person smarter.