FORMER FIRE COLLEGE EMPLOYEES SENTENCED

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Doris Gail Phillips and Melinda Gail Phillips Sexton were sentenced today in U.S. District Court. Both were former employees of the State of Alabama, working at the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa. They were charged with conspiracy and theft from an organization receiving federal funds in October 2006. They were convicted after a jury trial in April 2007.

Sexton, 31, was sentenced three years probation, including 6 months of home detention. Phillips, 58, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. The mother and daughter were ordered to pay $47,000 in restitution by U.S. District Court Judge Karon Bowdre.

“The theft of the taxpayer money is an egregious crime demonstrating an intolerable breach of trust,” stated U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin. “The defendants stole money that was intended for vital purposes such as training firefighters and educating college students.”

From December 2000 until March 22, 2002, PHILLIPS and SEXTON were employees of the State of Alabama and were working the on the campus of Shelton State Community College, they conspired to intentionally misapply, embezzle, steal and obtain a house located at 402 42nd Street in Tuscaloosa, which belonged to the State of Alabama. Those renovations, were completed during February 2001 to September 2001 using Shelton State Community College purchase orders to obtain labor and material. As a result, the defendants caused money belonging to the States of Alabama to pay for the renovations, and their scheme resulted in SEXTON’s purchase of the house for $45,000, when in fact the house appraised for $92,000.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the North Alabama Public Corruption Task Force with investigations from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, The Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys George Martin and Tamarra Matthews-Johnson, Assistant Alabama Attorney General Brent Woodall, and consultant John Gibbs prosecuted this matter.