KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, woman who admitted to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Saint Luke’s Foundation was sentenced Tuesday in federal court.
Kathleen Frederico, 52, was sentenced to two years and three months in federal prison without parole. She also was ordered to pay $546,603 in restitution.
Frederico, a former accounting and special projects manager at the Saint Luke's Foundation, pleaded guilty in June to one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said she stole a total of $557,675 in two embezzlement schemes over 14 years.
An investigation found that she used the money in various ways, including more than $150,000 on shopping and retail, more than $30,000 in travel and more than $21,000 in internet drug purchases.
She was fired from the foundation in February 2018.
The Saint Luke’s Foundation said in June that it reported the potential financial misconduct to authorities after an independent audit commissioned in 2018.
Frederico faced up to 20 years in federal prison.
