The bookkeeper ripped off the dentistry practice where she worked.
By Donna M. Perry
Staff Writer

RANGELEY – A federal judge sentenced a Madrid Township bookkeeper Friday to one-year in prison for engaging in a health-care fraud scheme to embezzle nearly $73,000 from her employer.

Lori A. Savage, 34, the former office manager of Dr. David McMillan’s Rangeley Family Dentistry, was also ordered to pay $72,956.81 in restitution to the dental clinic and to serve two years of supervised release after her prison term.

Savage diverted funds to pay her own credit card bills and other expenses, according to court records.

She faced up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby stated in a release that Savage received a more lengthy sentence because Savage was found to have abused a position of private trust and to have used special skill in carrying out the fraud scheme.

Savage who was paid $13 an hour by McMillan, also owned her own bookkeeping service and had used some of the money to buy “very expensive, top of the line computer equipment.”

Court records show that between Feb. 1, 2000 and Oct. 29, 2002, Savage was the officer manager of the clinic.

Without the authority of her employer Savage prepared and executed 85 checks from the Franklin Savings Bank account of Rangeley Family Dentistry for her own personal use in paying credit card bills an other expenses in her name or the name of a family member.

Savage also made false entries into the clinic’s computerized ledger to conceal the scheme by entering payees and items into the ledger that had never been approved by Dr. McMillan.

Savage also used McMillan’s stamp signature on the checks without the dentist’s permission.

The case came to light in November 2002 after McMillan noticed a $1,000 discrepancy in payment to a supplier recorded in his computerized records.

McMillan brought in his accountant to do an audit.

In 2000, the accountant found that 37 checks were paid to four different credit accounts that did not belong to McMillan: Fashion Bug, Capital One, Universal Card and First Card.

The payments were recorded in McMillan’s office computer system as expenditures for lab and office supplies, an affidavit stated.

Silbsy stated in her release that her hope is that the one-year sentence would serve as a deterrent to others who manage clinics and offices for health care professionals in Maine.

dperry@sunjournal.com