Former Hospice Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzling

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former Hospice of Missoula bookkeeper to 2 ½ years in prison after she admitted to embezzling more than $171,000 to support a gambling habit.

Missoula County District Judge Karen Townsend sentenced 43-year-old Sandra Lea Morrison to 20 years with 17 ½ suspended. Townsend also ordered Morrison to repay the money she stole from the hospice during the four years she worked there.

Morrison told Townsend that she used to spend an hour to four hours a night, five nights a week, playing keno at a casino.

According to court records, Morrison transferred more than $127,000 from hospice bank accounts to her personal account, issued inflated paychecks to herself and excessively reimbursed herself for office supplies and vacation time.