Another former Southern Indiana nonprofit leader accused of wire fraud
JASPER, Ind. – For the second time in two days, a former leader of a Southern Indiana nonprofit has been indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud.
Michele Rose, 61, is accused of 12 counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of forging checks, the U.S. District Attorney's office said in a news release Wednesday.
Neither the release nor federal court records specify where Rose worked, only that she served as a "medical staff coordinator." According to Dubois County Herald archives, Rose served in that same position for Memorial Hospital and Healthcare Center. Older entries on the hospital's website also identify Rose as their medical staff coordinator.
Rose has pleaded not guilty. A jury trial is set for May 8 at 9 a.m. at the Evansville federal courthouse.
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According to the indictment, which was unsealed Tuesday, Rose is accused of stealing more than $153,000 between March 2011 and December 2020.
Prosecutors allege Rose had access to the "medical staff checking account," which is "used to pay for flowers, employee assistance, birthday presents, scholarships, and other charitable activities."
Funds usually went directly to whomever was receiving the assistance, but occasionally Rose could buy something using money from the account and reimburse herself, the indictment states. She was supposed to do so by writing a check to herself and drawing the funds from the staff checking account.
"Rose made it appear as if the checks were for legitimate reimbursements by writing 'reimbursement' or something similar on the check memo lines," the indictment states, "but those were false and fraudulent representations."
According to the release, Rose wrote "165 fraudulent checks to herself for reimbursement of purchases that she never made."
If convicted, she could face as much as 30 years in prison.
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She's the second former nonprofit leader in Dubois County to have a wire fraud indictment unsealed against her this week. On Monday, a day before Rose's charges were unveiled, former $156,000 over five years from Mentors for Youth, former Mentors For Youth director Ellen L. Corn, 47, was accused of embezzling more than $156,000 from the organization between March 2017 and August 2022.
She faces 15 counts of wire fraud. If convicted, she could serve 20 years in prison. Like Rose, she's pleaded not guilty.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Another former Southern Indiana nonprofit leader accused of wire fraud
