ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After pleading guilty to federal program fraud in 2023, an Albuquerque woman has been sentenced to just over 12 months in prison. The woman, 48-year-old Beverly Scott, will also have to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Scott worked as a clerk for the Pueblo of Jemez, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said. Through her job, she was able to change names on invoices.
In 2020, after getting a call about an unpaid invoice, investigators discovered that a payment had been made to Scott, rather than the correct vendor, the DOJ said.
After hiring a forensic auditor, the pueblo discovered over 100 checks had been sent to Scott – much of the $389,977.84 in checks came from the Indian Health Service, the DOJ reported.
After federal investigators interviewed Scott, officials claimed she admitted to issuing the checks and said she lost all the money at local casinos.
Now, Scott will have to pay back $389,977.84, according to the U.S. District Court for New Mexico. She will also have to go through a gambling addiction treatment program.
