The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that a former financial coordinator has been convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to 41 months in prison in connection with a staggering embezzlement scheme from her dental practice employer. Jennifer Lynn Thornton, age 45, was convicted of embezzling more than $240,000 from the practice during the 18 months she worked there.

In July of 2021, the practice owner began a thorough review of his practice’s finances in preparation for transition into retirement. In connection therewith, he reviewed his practice’s credit card merchant statements and discovered numerous refund transactions that he didn’t authorize, which violated company policy.