Former Employee and Co-Conspirator Sentenced for Embezzling Over $270,000 from WFYI Public Media
Alicia Wilson, 37, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to three years’ probation, with the first 15 months on home detention, and ordered to pay $270,876 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In April of 2023, Mindi B. Madison, 53, of Indianapolis plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to three years’ probation and also ordered to pay $270,876 in restitution.
According to court documents, Wilson and Madison conspired together to embezzle funds from WFYI Public Media into their personal checking accounts.
Madison began working as an Accounting Specialist for WFYI in January 2018. WFYI was owned and operated by Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media, Inc., and provided television and radio programming throughout Central Indiana. Madison’s co-conspirator, Wilson, was neither an employee nor a vendor of WFYI.
As an Accounting Specialist, Madison had access to WFYI’s accounting software, and was trusted to present legitimate expenses, claims, invoices, and supporting documentation along with the unsigned WFYI checks to employees at WFYI who had signature authority for their approval and signature. Instead of presenting legitimate claims that arose out of WFYI’s legitimate business expenses for signature and payment, Madison abused her position of trust, and presented at least 156 fake claims and invoices for payment. In effort to conceal the theft from WFYI and their banking institutions, Madison and Wilson agreed that Madison would falsify invoices using versions of Wilson’s name and businesses connected to her.
Madison tendered WFYI checks to Wilson, and they agreed that Wilson would then deposit the checks into her bank accounts. Wilson then withdrew Madison’s portion in cash, and they split the illegal proceeds. Both Madison and Wilson used WFYI’s stolen funds for their own personal expenditures including but not limited to, rent, restaurants, groceries, fuel, and utilities.
In total, the pair embezzled approximately $270,876 from WFYI before the theft was discovered. Wilson’s participation in the scheme made it virtually impossible for WFYI to detect the theft.
“Complex economic crimes such as these devastate the finances and security of businesses and individuals. The defendants’ theft deprived WFYI of hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for public service and educating the community,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Our office will continue to work with the FBI to identify and prosecute individuals who scheme and steal to satisfy their own greed.”
Parks and Recreation accepting applications for vendor spaces at 2024 art fairs
The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department invites local and regional artists to apply to participate in the 2024 A Fair of the Arts art and fine craft fairs. A Fair of the Arts is held the second Saturdays of the summer season, May through October, downtown at 401 N. Morton St. in conjunction with the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market. Artists may apply to display and sell their original artwork at A Fair of the Arts by submitting an application online. Applications must be submitted by Feb. 16 to receive full consideration. There is a non-refundable $20 jury fee per application. Cost for selected artists to participate in A Fair of the Arts is $60 per Fair; commissions are not collected on sales.
Criteria for selecting artists for A Fair of the Arts include style of work (divided into 10 categories: clay, drawing/painting/photography, fiber arts, glass, jewelry, metalwork/woodwork, natural materials, recycled arts, surface decoration, and personal care); quality of work, price of work, and variety of artists.
All work for sale at A Fair of the Arts must be original and made by the applicant. In addition, work must be safe, have a decent life expectancy, and exhibit quality of craftsmanship. Participating artists are selected by a jury of Parks and Recreation staff, artists, and A Fair of the Arts customers.
For more information about A Fair of the Arts, or to request an application or fill out an application online, visit bloomington.in.gov/afair or call Crystal Ritter at 812-349-3725.
Arts Commission Accepting Applications for Fellowship for Creative Teaching
The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced today that applications are being accepted for the 2024 Indiana Educator Fellowship for Creative Teaching. The Indiana Educator Fellowship for Creative Teaching, a partnership with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), was created in 2023 to celebrate and support outstanding educators and expand classroom teaching through creativity.
If selected for the program, Creative Teaching Fellows receive:
- Three days of immersive training in creativity and connections to standards
- Access to a fully funded in-school creative arts residency
- Support from community creative partners, experts, and professionals
- Membership in a statewide community of energetic, innovative, educators
- A $1,000 honoraria
The deadline to apply to be a part of the Creative Teaching Fellow Cohort is February 22nd, 2024. Read the guidelines and access the application.
This Week Hoosier History
1982 – Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend and 19th United States Secretary of Transportation, was born in South Bend on January 19th.
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson