Charmaine Gatlin, the former chief operating officer of the Jackson Health Foundation, has been sentenced to more than six years of prison after pleading guilty to stealing money that should have gone to patients.

Gatlin, a 52-year-old former resident of Weston, was charged with embezzling more than $1 million from the nonprofit by submitting false invoices and accepting kickbacks, according to a federal indictment that was unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice back in May. She was charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, 26 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. Each wire fraud-related account carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while the money laundering charges carried up to 10 years each.

Jackson Health CEO Carlos Migoya told the judge Wednesday that Gatlin took from real people with real needs. The Jackson Health Foundation is the fundraising arm of Jackson Health System, which serves Miami-Dade County and receives funding through philanthropic donations, sales taxes and federal programs.

Migoya later spoke to CBS News Miami, saying that he is now working hard to rebuild donors' faith.

"The biggest issue is to me is not just the money we've lost, but really the reputational issues that come with that and the fact that people need to understand that not just Jackson Health but our foundation are really areas that can be trusted," Migoya said. "They trust us with people's lives; people survive because of Jackson. We want to make sure that the donors still believe that we are a very sound organization, that every dollar that they give goes back to Jackson."

According to her sentencing in court on Wednesday, Gatlin will also have to pay back $6.9 million in restitution.

"The judge imposed a sentence she thought was appropriate under the circumstances," said David Howard, Gatlin's attorney. "Mrs. Gatlin is extremely remorseful and repentant and has begun to serve her debt to society, and she's embarrassed, and she apologizes to all those who were harmed and whose trust she violated."

Gatlin was immediately taken into custody to start serving out her sentence. In court, she said she plans on writing a book with all the proceeds going toward paying some of the $6.9 million that she owes Jackson Health.

A golf cart and other luxury goods are among the alleged personal purchases

According to the indictment, Gatlin carried out the scheme while she served as COO of the foundation between 2014 and 2024.

Prosecutors alleged that Gatlin approved about $2 million in invoices to a Georgia-based audiovisual company for services that were never provided to the foundation.

The vendor then allegedly paid $1 million in kickbacks to Gatlin, which she used in part to pay personal credit card bills, prosecutors said.

The indictment also claimed that Gatlin coached the vendor via email on how to falsify invoices.

Gatlin also allegedly falsified invoices from a merchandise vendor, who, at her request, purchased luxury items, including Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags and Apple electronics.

She was additionally accused of billing the foundation for a rose-gold golf cart delivered to her Weston home in September 2023.