Grand jury indicts Indiana woman accused of embezzling $150K from employer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Jasper, Indiana, woman is accused of embezzling over $150,000 from a health care nonprofit she used to work for.

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Michele Rose, 61, on 12 counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of forging checks.

According to court documents, the crimes are related to a scheme that lasted for nearly a decade — from March 2011 to December 2020 — to embezzle more than $153,000 from a nonprofit health care organization headquartered in Jasper where Rose worked as a medical staff coordinator for many years.

Officials said Rose would "occasionally make business-related purchases with her personal funds, for which she would be reimbursed by the business upon proof of receipt."

Rose allegedly wrote 165 fraudulent checks to herself "for reimbursement of purchases that she never made," according to court documents. Once bank checks were signed, officials said she would write them to herself for various amounts and deposited them into her own account. They said she would conceal the fake reimbursements by "omitting them from financial reports to organization leadership."

If convicted, she could face up to 30 years in prison.