Print

Mail

wiki links

Mad shopper given probation for taking firm to the cleaners

A woman who authorities say stole more than US$240,000 from her employer to feed a shopping addiction has been sentenced to five years' probation by a federal judge so she can continue mental-health treatment.

Elizabeth Roach, 51, of Chicago, was an associate partner at Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, with an annual salary of US$150,000 when she began racking up a huge credit-card debt. To hide the bills from her family, she embezzled US$241,061 from the company over three years by padding her expense account, authorities said.

She pleaded guilty in June 2000 to wire fraud, but the case has been in the court system for years because two previous sentences had been appealed.

In 2001, US District Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled Roach didn't deserve to go to prison because her crimes stemmed from an addiction. He sentenced her to five years of probation, but sentencing guidelines at the time said Roach should serve a minimum of one year in prison.

An appeals court reversed Kennelly's decision, and he then sentenced Roach to a year and a day in prison. However, the US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the sentencing guidelines were advisory, not mandatory, which brought the case back before Kennelly.

Roach has not served any time in jail.

Kennelly eventually sentenced Roach to probation so she can continue treatment for chronic depression and compulsive shopping. In his ruling, he wrote that the problems from which she was suffering were a "a recognized psychiatric diagnosis."

He also ordered her to serve three months in work release followed by nine months of home confinement.

Roach, who has so far paid more than US$270,000 in fines and restitution, was pleased with the sentence.
This story has been viewed 1551 times.