Accountant laundered $5.3 million stolen from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta by hacker, prosecutors say
A former accountant has been sentenced to years in federal prison after he was convicted for taking part in a scheme to laundering more than $5.3 million stolen from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Ronald Deabler, a 66-year-old Atlanta business owner and former Certified Public Accountant, was found guilty by a jury earlier this year.
According to information presented in court, the situation began when an unnamed hacker was able to get access to the email system of one of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's furniture vendors. The hacker then pretended to be one of the vendor's employees and tricked the healthcare institution into sending what they believed to be a legitimate payment. Instead, prosecutors say $5.3 million went an updated bank account belonging to Deabler.
Officials say Deabler agreed to distribute the money for a commission and opened a second bank account to move the money around. When his bank refused to transmit the entire sum, Deabler converted around $3.5 million of the proceeds into cashiers checks that he mailed out to other individuals and entitites, prosecutors said.
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the vendor noticed the fraud within a few days. They then contacted the bank, who traced the funds to Deabler's accounts. In all, prosecutors say say they were able to recover around $4 million.
"Deabler used his knowledge of the banking system to launder millions of dollars stolen from a not-for-profit pediatric healthcare system that is dedicated to the welfare of Georgia's infants, children, and teens," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "Scammers, swindlers, and thieves who target our vital healthcare institutions, and their associates who launder stolen money, will face the full consequences of their actions."
A judge sentenced Deabler to four years in prison as well as two years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay more than $682,000 in restitution.
