A Lynchburg grand jury indicted Donna Beeler-Hensley, vice president at Sterling Oil Company, with 124 counts of fraud on the government today. You can get the full scoop at the Lynchburg News-Advance here.
She is accused of misusing public assistance programs to enrich herself–namely, Virginia’s Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income families with heating and air conditioning bills.
Beeler-Hensley’s fraud is a textbook example of fraud on the government. She altered dates on client invoices to make them eligible for payment by the government; she billed the government for heating and air conditioning installation that was never done, and for heating and air conditioning services that were never provided. According to the Lynchburg News-Advance, the losses to the government are still being calculated, but could end up being more than $10,000.
This is not, at this time, a Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act case. Because the fraud was on state money, she could be prosecuted civilly as well. The current damages estimate ($10,000) seems a small amount, but I am certain the final damages calculation will be larger.
This case provides a classic example of why the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act case creates treble damages, civil penalties, and attorney’s fees for violations. In addition to treble damages of $30,000 that could be obtained from a successful verdict, consider this–each false invoice she prepared would subject her to a fine of between $5,500 and $11,000.
Under Virginia Code 8.01-216.4, the Court cannot waive the penalties–they are mandatory. The Court would, however, have discretion as to the dollar amount of each fine. If the court took the low end (i.e., $5,500) that would still result in a judgment of $682,000 for civil penalties.
Special thanks go to the Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly blog and to the Lynchburg News-Advance for providing such excellent coverage.