Dental office manager sentenced for stealing $500K

A former Iowa dental office manager was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for stealing almost $500,000 from her former employer.

Pamela Harris, 58, of Mason City, IA, was convicted of wire fraud in September 2016, according to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa. She pleaded guilty to stealing funds from the dental practice for which she worked from 1993 until 2014, when her fraud was discovered and she was fired.

Harris had been authorized by the practice's two dentists to use rubber signature stamps to pay for legitimate expenses only when she obtained permission from them to do so. However, she forged checks to transfer funds into her own bank account or into the accounts of third parties for almost 10 years, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. This included paying for a $4,000 white plastic fence at her home.

Harris was also ordered to pay $491,255 in restitution to the practice.