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44 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 5, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 30, 2005 Ex-office manager draws 18 months for embezzlement By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune The former manager of a Medford medical office must go to prison for embezzling approximately $600,000 from a group of doctors. Barbara Diane Tollefson, 63, of the 2300 block of Amaryllis Street, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court to a charge of racketeering. Judge Patricia Crain sentenced her to spend a year and six months in prison. Crain agreed to dismiss six counts of first-degree aggravated theft under the terms of Tollefson’s plea negotiation. A longtime office manager for Medford Pathologists, which rents space at Rogue Valley Medical Center, Tollefson stole about $600,000 over eight years, said Matt Chancellor, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. Physicians contacted police in August 2003 because they suspected Tollefson was using business checks to pay personal bills, said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. "This is a lesson to everyone who knows you," Crain said. "You never know who you can trust." Advertisement Tollefson has not worked for Medford Pathologists since the embezzlement was uncovered. She had no previous criminal record and has spent no time in jail. Tollefson forged checks to pay credit card bills for clothing, beauty treatments, travel and even building supplies, said Medford police officer Keith Mak. Bank records also show that she made payments on her home mortgage and electricity bills with stolen funds, Mak said. While Tollefson had the power to sign business checks, she also used a signature stamp belonging to a physician who had moved her practice to another office, Mak said. Tollefson had sole responsibility for the office accounts and did much of her work from home, he added. The physicians’ group filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Tollefson in July but settled with her last week in exchange for a payment of $175,000. Chancellor did not request additional restitution in the case. Charges were not filed in connection with about $150,000 Tollefson stole because the statute of limitations had run out, Chancellor told Crain. Tollefson told the judge that she could not explain why she took the money, but apologized. She admitted the crime in her first conversation with police, said Tollefson’s attorney Robert Abel. Although Chancellor asked Crain to send Tollefson to jail immediately following Tuesday’s hearing, she granted Tollefson two weeks to report. Abel asked for more time so Tollefson could arrange nursing care for her husband and his 91-year-old mother, both of whom are disabled. Tollefson likely will participate in a prison "boot camp" program to shorten her sentence, Abel said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemonat 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s