Former WFYI employee and co-conspirator sentenced in $270,000 embezzlement case

A former WFYI employee and her co-conspirator charged in a 2022 embezzlement case have plead guilty and received their sentences, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

This week Alicia Wilson, the co-conspirator, was sentenced to three years of probation and also ordered to pay $270,876 in restitution.

Mindi B. Madison, a former accounting specialist at the nonprofit, was sentenced in April 2023 to three years’ probation and ordered to pay $270,876 in restitution.

Both Madison and Wilson plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

From 2018 to 2020, Madison worked with Wilson, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who she issued checks to based on falsified invoices. Wilson then deposited the checks into their bank account and split the proceeds with Madison.

Court documents allege Madison embezzled approximately $270,876, which she used to buy groceries and pay rent and utilities, among other expenses.

“Complex economic crimes such as these devastate the finances and security of businesses and individuals. The defendants’ theft deprived WFYI of hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for public service and educating the community,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

The embezzlement left no financial impact on WFYI, according to a statement from the organization in 2022, because of business insurance coverage.

The U.S Attorney's Office said the FBI investigated the case.