Six Felony Counts Filed Against Ex-Gatesway Foundation Employee

Monday, January 22nd 2007, 5:23 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A former employee of a private facility for the mentally retarded was charged in Tulsa County District Court on Monday with six felony counts accusing her of financial exploitation, Attorney General Drew Edmondson announced.

Deborah Ann Sperry, 29, was charged after investigators with the Patient Abuse and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in Edmondson's office found $975 had been taken from trust fund accounts of six clients of Gatesway Foundation.

Sperry was employed as a qualified mental retardation professional. The charges accuse her of taking money from the accounts to purchase personal items for the residents, and then failing to provide either the items or the money.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and
a fine of $10,000.