Former Yosemite National Park child care center director charged with embezzlement
Submitted by editor on Tue, 08/12/2014 - 12:11pm
A Sonora woman accused of embezzling more than $42,000 from the Yosemite National Park Child Care Center, was summoned Tuesday to appear in federal court on the charges after a grand jury investigation and indictment, according the the U.S. Justice Department.
Charity Brocchini, 40, was named in the indictment, returned Thursday, August 7, charging her with two counts of wire fraud and one count of embezzlement concerning program receiving federal funds. Brocchini has been summoned to appear for arraignment on Sept. 8, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone, in Fresno.
According to the indictment, between 2005 and 2009, Brocchini was the director of the Yosemite National Park Child Care Center and the Yosemite Child Care Center a nonprofit organization operating child care facilities in Yosemite Valley and El Portal.
The indictment alleges that Brocchini embezzled $42,608 by paying herself extra paychecks, and using the YNPCCC’s funds to write checks to herself, pay her personal car and insurance payments, pay her outstanding debts and credit cards, and make personal purchases at retail stores.
The case was part of an investigation by the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch and the United Sates Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Mark J. McKeon is prosecuting the case.
Ivan Negroni, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services San Francisco region state: “We will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney to root out all forms of waste, fraud and abuse in federal grant programs.”
If convicted, Brocchini faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
