“I became caught up in my own fantasy.” That is true it was a fantasy and today Jennifer Elizabeth Meehan was sentenced today to six months in prison and fined $50,000. In addition, U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala also sentenced JenniferElizabeth Meehan, 40, to serve 18 months of home confinement, 40 months supervised probation. She also is to serve eight hours a week community service while on home confinement and probation.
An earlier article outlined her crime. https://www.chuckgallagher.com/jennifer-elizabeth-meehan-attorney-charged-with-defrauding-gamma-phi-beta-sorority-house/
From an unpaid volunteer position, Meehan has now through her own doing lost her license to practice law for a set of dumb stupid choices.
The plea agreement indicates that Jennifer Elizabeth Meehan executed a bank fraud scheme to illegally obtain money from First Citizens Bank & Trust Company and the Bank of Tuscaloosa. Gamma Phi Beta’s account was at the Bank of Tuscaloosa and Meehan opened an account at First Citizens Bank under a fraudulent business name.
Meehan told the court that she didn’t take the money for personal use. Court records according to the prosecution stipulate otherwise. According to an article in AL.com:
In September and November of 2014, Meehan submitted fraudulent furniture invoices totaling about $375,000 to Greek Resource Services, a contract company that handles the finances for fraternities and sororities at UA. GRS drew money from Gamma Phi Beta’s account at Bank of Tuscaloosa and gave Meehan two checks totaling about $375,000. She deposited that money into the newly opened First Citizens account, authorities said.
Meehan wired money from that account into her personal business account at Bank of America for her personal use, according to her plea agreement.
Under the plea agreement, Meehan agreed to forfeit, as proceeds of illegal activity, $234,648, and to pay additional restitution of $34,815 to GRS. The government also had frozen money in her bank accounts.
Jennifer Elizabeth Meehan – What Was Your Motivation?
That’s a question that I can’t answer – not with any level of confidence. What I do know is that what allows people – smart intelligent people to sleep at night when they have done something this wrong is getting caught up in the illusion. She said, “I became caught up in my own fantasy,” and that is the truth.
In order to perpetrate a fraud three things have to come together and one is critical. Those things are: NEED, OPPORTUNITY, and RATIONALIZATION. The last item: RATIONALIZATION is the most important. It’s like the cement that holds the fraud together. And once one begins to believe their own fantasy (as Jennifer Elizabeth Meehan put it) once it becomes real, well the RATIONALIZATION hardens and become real – believable so to speak.
Today reality hit with an active prison sentence. The fantasy is over and a new chapter in her life begins. I wish her well and know that she can, if she elects, use this experience to help others. Time will tell whether she’ll be a victor or victim from this experience.
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She had the money and was saving it finish the house and for a scholarship program. You need to do your research. Frankly, I don’t see why she was given any prison time.
I understand, however, unauthorized withdrawal of funds is illegal regardless of intent. It appears that those closer to the case determined that the application of the law warranted prison. I know, however, that she can use this experience to help others.
If she was President of the board I’m sure she had authorization to hold money on their behalf. The court documents say she had the authorization to finish furnishing the sorority house and the rest was holding for a scholarship fund. In that case she didn’t have the intent to steal and there is no fraud.
If it was fraud and you understood how sororities work in Alabama, you would understand there is no way only one person could have been aware or pulled this off. If it happened the way it is being portrayed and for several years then it took several people. Why is the rest of the board not in trouble? Why are the other vendors not speaking? Where is the nationals and why the lack of oversight from them? There is no way that other people were not aware of what was going on with a project this large.
You refer to intent. Fair enough, but apparently law enforcement and the judicial system felt otherwise. The found there was fraud and/or a violation of law and hence since every choice has a consequence, she is now facing her consequence … one that will live with her the rest of her life. Does that make her a bad person? Heavens no!” But it doesn’t remove the consequences of her choices.