2 former Columbus Regional employees sentenced in scheme that netted $908,938

Two former employees for Columbus Regional Health were sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court on wire fraud and tax evasion charges in a scheme that netted a total of $908,935.

Carol Adcock, former accounts payable manager, and Barbara McFerrin, director of corporate finance, were sentenced Tuesday by Judge Clay Land. Adcock was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to make restitution of $246,830. McFerrin was sentenced to 33 months in prison on the same charges and ordered to pay restitution of $662,105.

Court documents show Adcock was employed for 19 years and served as accounts payable manager from 2003 until November 2014. McFerrin was employed from 1991 to 2014 but served as director of corporate finance for about 13 years.

From about Jan. 1, 2011 to Nov. 31, 2014, records show Adcock misused Columbus Bank & Trust Visa credit cards issued to employees for business purposes. Adcock used the credit cards to make a variety of unauthorized purchases.

During the time period, Columbus Regional switched from the CB&T to BBVA Compass and all employees were required to turn in old credit cards before getting a new one. After the change, the old cards no longer were monitored by Columbus Regional.

Adcock and McFerrin kept their cards. The scheme was concealed because Adcock was responsible for reviewing and approving expenses on credit card statements and paying outstanding balances.

McFerrin used a series of accounting techniques to conceal unauthorized activity on CB&T cards, including coding unauthorized purchases as legitimate business expenses.

In 2013, McFerrin filed a false and fraudulent income tax return on $142,625 and taxes due of $26,378 when the amount was substantially more than the stated amount on the form. For the same year, Adcock filed a false and fraudulent income tax return on $64,650 and owing $8,309 when her income was also more than the stated amount on the tax form.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 7:50 PM with the headline "2 former Columbus Regional employees sentenced in scheme that netted $908,938."