EVANSVILLE – A federal grand jury indicted Michele Rose, 61, of Jasper, Indiana, on twelve counts of wire fraud and twelve counts of forging checks related to an alleged near-decade-long scheme to embezzle over $150,000 from a nonprofit healthcare organization headquartered in Jasper. The indictment was unsealed on February 28, 2023, following Rose’s arrest and initial appearance.
According to court documents, Rose served as the Medical Staff Coordinator for a nonprofit for many years. During her employment, Rose would occasionally make business-related purchases with her personal funds, for which she would be reimbursed by the business upon proof of receipt. From March 2011 to December 2020, Rose allegedly used her position to embezzle $153,769.00 by writing 165 fraudulent checks to herself for reimbursement of purchases that she never made. Rose made numerous false representations to organization leadership to obtain signed, blank checks to reimburse herself for nonexistent expenses. Once the blank checks were signed, Rose wrote them to herself for various amounts and deposited the funds into her personal account. Rose then fraudulently concealed the fake reimbursements by omitting them from financial reports to organizational leadership.
If convicted, Rose faces up to 30 years imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine the actual sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Jeffrey R. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the USSS Indianapolis Field Office, and Nathan Schmitt, Chief of Police for the Jasper Police Department made the announcement.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Matthew B. Miller, who is prosecuting this case.
