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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Seven Years to Think About What He Did

HOUSTON (CN) - A Houston man who embezzled $9.3 million from his employer in a long-running billing scam was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison.

Kenneth Joseph Wild II, 50, was printing manager for Memorial Hermann Health Systems, a nonprofit that runs 13 hospitals in the Houston area.

In 2001, Memorial Hermann promoted Wild to manager of the department that hires companies to print its promotional and informational brochures.

Two weeks after he was promoted to management, Digital Designs Limited began billing Memorial Hermann for printing and data conversion services.

Wild's scam lasted 14 years, during which he approved 229 phony invoices totaling $9.3 million from the sham company, bought a house and took frequent international vacations with family and friends, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

An anonymous letter sent to Memorial Hermann's chief auditor in March led to Wild's arrest. He pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in April.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt sentenced him to 87 months in federal prison and 3 years probation, ordered him to pay $9.3 million in restitution and to forfeit his house, everything in it, his cars and his retirement account to pay back Memorial Hermann.

"You only came to your senses after you got caught and now you will have a significant amount of time to reflect on your actions," Hoyt told Wild as he sent him to prison.

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