Former College Bursar Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Embezzlement Scheme

Today, Brandi J. Henson, 49, of Yukon, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison in connection with a scheme to embezzle nearly $400,000 from Oklahoma City Community College, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Henson worked as the bursar at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) from 2003 through 2011. As bursar, she had access to the college’s PayPal account. PayPal allows users to maintain financial accounts for the purpose of transferring money over the Internet. In her duties as bursar, Henson used OCCC’s PayPal account to process refunds to students’ credit cards.
Henson was charged on July 10, 2012, with wire fraud relating to a scheme to embezzle money from OCCC. On August 16, 2012, Henson pled guilty to one count of wire fraud. At the plea hearing, she admitted that she improperly used the college’s PayPal account to post refunds/credits to her personal credit cards. Henson also admitted that the embezzlement scheme lasted from 2004 to 2011. According to the information filed against her, Henson paid off more than $398,000 in personal credit card bills with OCCC refunds that she posted to her personal accounts.
At today’s sentencing, United States District Judge David L. Russell sentenced Henson to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, Judge Russell ordered Henson to pay restitution to OCCC in the amount of $398,315.12. Henson must report to federal prison on February 18, 2013.
The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris M. Stephens.