Ex-state employee sent to prison for $1M-plus fraud seeks to restore her Utah retirement
A former state employee who pleaded guilty to fraud in a $1 million embezzlement of public funds is seeking to have her retirement benefits restored.
An attorney representing Patricia Nelson, who was sentenced last month to 27 months in prison, appeared before the Utah Communications Authority (UCA) board Wednesday to make her case. The UCA oversees Utah's 911 system and emergency communications statewide.
Attorney Doug Stowell asked the agency to retract its decision that Nelson committed an employment-related offense and allow her to collect her state retirement benefits. The board denied the request but moved to refer the issue to the Utah Retirement Systems (URS) for consideration.
URS later told The Salt Lake Tribune that while it does not discuss the cases of individual members, the retirement agency does not involve itself in determining whether a member's benefits are forfeited.
Read more: http://www.sltrib.com/news/5455181-155/ex-state-employee-sent-to-prison-for