ORANGE -- The former chief financial officer of Orange County's Orangewood Children's Foundation was convicted today of stealing more than $780,000 from the nonprofit for abused children.
Tracy Lynn Salcido, 40, pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court to 206 felony counts of forgery and 20 felony counts of falsifying records.
She was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.15 million in restitution and legal and accounting fees stemming from the case.
Prosecutors say that, between 1999 and 2005, Salcido forged 206 checks from Orangewood's accounts and deposited them in an outside business account.
She tried to hide the theft by under-reporting donations to the foundation and overstating expenses.
Salcido allegedly used the stolen funds to buy a home in Yorba Linda, several vehicles ,including a BMW and spa treatments.
She and her husband also traveled to New York and Boston, Orangewood attorney Phil W. Green said
Founded in 1981, Orangewood serves more than 2,000 foster children and runs Orangewood Children's Home in Orange, the county's only emergency shelter for abused children.
The theft was uncovered in August 2005, when an Orangewood accounting supervisor discovered a forged check, which led to an audit of the foundation's finances.
She was arrested in February 2007, about a month after she and her husband were ordered to pay $500,000 to settle a fraud lawsuit by Orangewood.
Defense attorney Jeffery D. Kent, of La Habra, said his client is remorseful, adding that she stole the money as a way of coping during a time of extreme family stress.
The Orangewood charges come on the heels of another high-profile embezzlement case.
Karen Shuerger, 58, an Orange County Red Cross manager, was indicted on federal charges of taking more than $100,000 from the nonprofit.
Tracy Lynn Salcido, 40, pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court to 206 felony counts of forgery and 20 felony counts of falsifying records.
She was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.15 million in restitution and legal and accounting fees stemming from the case.
Prosecutors say that, between 1999 and 2005, Salcido forged 206 checks from Orangewood's accounts and deposited them in an outside business account.
She tried to hide the theft by under-reporting donations to the foundation and overstating expenses.
Salcido allegedly used the stolen funds to buy a home in Yorba Linda, several vehicles ,including a BMW and spa treatments.
She and her husband also traveled to New York and Boston, Orangewood attorney Phil W. Green said
Founded in 1981, Orangewood serves more than 2,000 foster children and runs Orangewood Children's Home in Orange, the county's only emergency shelter for abused children.
The theft was uncovered in August 2005, when an Orangewood accounting supervisor discovered a forged check, which led to an audit of the foundation's finances.
She was arrested in February 2007, about a month after she and her husband were ordered to pay $500,000 to settle a fraud lawsuit by Orangewood.
Defense attorney Jeffery D. Kent, of La Habra, said his client is remorseful, adding that she stole the money as a way of coping during a time of extreme family stress.
The Orangewood charges come on the heels of another high-profile embezzlement case.
Karen Shuerger, 58, an Orange County Red Cross manager, was indicted on federal charges of taking more than $100,000 from the nonprofit.
