Administrator Allegedly Embezzled $181,000 From ASC She Helped Start

During her 10 years as the administrator of the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Western New York in Amherst, N.Y., Joan Dispenza, MSN, CASC, allegedly wrote 10 unauthorized checks to herself from the ASC's account for $181,000. Ms. Dispenza, 55, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of filing a false tax return under a plea agreement signed earlier this month.

Ms. Dispenza served as the ASC's administrator since it opened in 1999 until she left on disability in 2009. A financial audit uncovered the embezzlement, says Marc Howe, CASC, the current administrator. The ASC's accountant asked to see an invoice for a $32,500 purchase, but Mr. Howe couldn't find the invoice, which the ASC's books said was written to a capital equipment vendor. The vendor had no record of any such purchase. When Mr. Howe went to reconcile two checks adding up to that amount with the bank, he says the checks were written out to and signed by Ms. Dispenza.

The district attorney's office didn't file criminal charges in the case, but the Internal Revenue Service investigated. From 2006 through 2009, Ms. Dispenza filed tax returns understating the amount of income she received from the ASC by $50,114, says the IRS. During Ms. Dispenza's employment at the ASC, the IRS says she embezzled "at least" $62,022 from the ASC by writing checks to herself. Ms. Dispenza allegedly claimed that $120,000 in checks she wrote to herself were for unpaid bonuses, says Mr. Howe.

Interestingly, when Ms. Dispenza was named an "ASC Administrator to Know" in 2009, the write-up mentioned that "in her role as administrator, she functions as the chief operating and financial officers." Turns out she also had the authority to write and sign checks, says Mr. Howe.

"That's been our big lesson: Don't have one person writing and signing the checks, and doing the accounting," says Mr. Howe. Now, he says, a physician-owner who's on the board signs all checks.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 24 in Buffalo, N.Y. Ms. Dispenza faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison and a requirement that she pay $99,457 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $62,022 to the surgery center. Ms. Dispenza, who now lives in Henderson, Nev., did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.

Dan O'Connor