Former HR director faces prison time

The former HR director of a community center in Albany, NY could spend three to nine years in state prison if she does not pay back the $127,000 she stole from the center.

Martina Hull, 40, of Troy stole the sum from Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center in Whitehall Road, according to a report from Times Union.

Prosecutors said Hull created an employee named “Harry Hall IV” without permission and paid the $127,000 into that account. The suspect pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny for embezzling the money between Oct. 21, 2016, and March 21, 2020, according to the report, citing the Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ office.

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This week, Hull also admitted that she lied to a grand jury that was hearing evidence about the case. Hull’s sentencing is set for May 24, 2023, one year after her plea.

Hull must pay back the $127,000. If she succeeds in that, she will receive five years of probation. If not, she will receive the three-to-nine-year prison term under the terms of the plea deal. As part of the plea agreement, the district attorney's office said it agreed not to pursue perjury charges.

Several employees have also previously been penalized for embezzling violations.

A former operations manager of Networks 2000, a San Diego-based tech support firm, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for embezzling more than $350,000 from the company.

Also, a former director of accounting and HR at a kitchen remodeling company was charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory prison sentence of two years. This is because she made “hundreds of unauthorized charges in a total amount exceeding $175,000 to the victim company’s credit cards for personal expenses, including jewelry, beauty treatments, laser treatments, travel, pets, cosmetic surgery, clothing and cars, including a partial payment on a $100,000 Corvette.”

Previously, a former energy executive in California was sentenced to serve six years in federal prison and pay back $624 million as penalty for participating in a billion-dollar solar power fraud.

In February, a CEO of several medical-imaging companies in Southern California was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for running a scheme that submitted more than $250 million in fraudulent claims through the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC). That same month, a former worker at Amazon was sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined $50,000 after pleading guilty to conspiracy in an international bribery scheme in September 2021.