Kristen Hart, Embezzlement, Georgia 2021

STATESBORO, GA – Two former employees of Bulloch Pediatrics Group are trading scrubs for stripes after being sentenced to federal prison for systematically pilfering over $350,000 from the Statesboro practice. The brazen scheme, years in the making, was finally exposed in 2020, leaving the business reeling and prompting a joint investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Kristen Hart, 37, of Statesboro, the former office manager, received 16 months behind bars and a hefty restitution order of $115,550.69. Her method of choice? A simple, yet effective, abuse of the company’s bank cards, racking up tens of thousands in personal purchases, including a steady stream of Amazon deliveries. Alisa Brown, 44, also of Statesboro, and a former nurse manager, fared worse, slapped with a 21-month sentence, $239,626.86 in restitution, and a $1,000 fine. Brown’s scheme began even earlier, back in 2013.

Court documents detail how both Hart and Brown engaged in a coordinated effort to purchase thousands of dollars worth of postal money orders. They then cashed those orders for personal gain, effectively turning the U.S. Postal Service into an unwitting accomplice in their theft. The pair exploited their positions of trust, using their access to company funds and resources to line their own pockets. Neither will be eligible for parole; each must also serve three years of supervised release after their prison terms.

Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes didn’t mince words, stating, “The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a significant challenge for small businesses, including health care practices. It’s much more difficult when seemingly trustworthy employees treat their jobs as a license to steal.” The timing of the theft, amidst the economic turmoil of the pandemic, adds a particularly callous dimension to the crime.

Federal investigators were quick to emphasize the collaborative nature of the takedown. Juan Vargas, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service-Miami Division, noted the agency’s commitment to pursuing those who misuse postal services for criminal purposes. U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Steven Baisel, offering a blunt assessment, declared, “Greed is not good. Those who chase its allure, particularly at the expense of those who trust them, will most often find themselves trapped.”

The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, serves as a stark reminder that financial crimes, even those committed within seemingly local businesses, are taken seriously at the federal level. Hart and Brown now face the consequences of their actions, leaving behind a trail of financial damage and a breach of trust that will likely take Bulloch Pediatrics Group years to fully recover from.

Related Federal Cases