PENSACOLA, Fla. — A former local hospital manager has been sentenced to prison for defrauding his employer, money laundering, and tax evasion.
Timothy S. Gilbert, 54, of Milton, was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 22 counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of money laundering, and four counts of tax evasion, said Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“Abuse of trust, embezzlement, and tax evasion warrant significant criminal consequences,” said Mr Coody.
“This defendant’s years-long theft from his employer and his efforts to launder and conceal his fraud proceeds are both illegal and offensive to the hardworking Americans who pay their taxes to defend our country and maintain its operations. It is fitting and proper that he pay restitution, unpaid taxes, and investigative costs for his criminal conduct.”
Court documents reveal that while employed as a rehab manager for a local hospital and medical group, Mr Gilbert used a corporate credit card to make unauthorized purchases of prepaid credit cards and gift cards. He reportedly converted the funds from the fraudulently obtained cards using his personal PayPal, Stripe, and bank accounts to conceal his scheme.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida (USAO), Mr. Gilbert used the funds to make personal purchases and gamble at casinos.
Gilbert is said to have concealed the credit card payments from his employer by circumventing company policies. Between 2019 and 2022, Gilbert reportedly stole and laundered over $607,000.
“Devising a scheme to conceal income from the IRS is blatant criminal activity, especially when you abuse your position of trust and embezzle funds from a hospital that serves the community,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Lani I. Rosado-Espinal.
“Taxpayers who pay their fair share need to be reassured that IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to devote the resources needed to uncover these types of schemes which defraud the honest taxpayers.”
In addition to serving three years in custody, Mr Gilbert was ordered to pay over $607,000 in restitution to the victim hospital, over $160,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes, over $38,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and the Pensacola Police Department for costs of prosecution, and $3,700 in special monetary assessments.
This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Pensacola Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia Forbes and Jessica Etherton prosecuted this case.
