A Port St. Lucie woman who pled guilty this spring to embezzling charges will serve four years in prison and pay more than $1 million in restitution for her role in a wire fraud case.
Sabrinea Lallonie Brooks, 28, learned her fate on July 31 when U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg handed down the sentence.
The maximum sentence was 165 years total on all the charges she faced, which included seven counts of wire fraud, one count of access device fraud, and one count of forged security. After she’s served her 4 years in prison, Brooks faces as many as five years of supervised release.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Brooks defrauded and embezzled various businesses between February 2014 and December 2015 while employed as a billing and collections specialist.
During that time, authorities said, she worked for Apex Billing, LLC, Dream Center for Recovery, Supportive Healthcare Services and Wellness Center of Palm Beach, LLC.
Brooks acquired various pieces of digital information from third-party agents of insurance companies and used the information to route payments elsewhere, effectively stealing more than $463,400.
She also intercepted digital payments, collecting more than $57,600, authorities said.
Brooks opened a bank account with a name similar to that of one of her employers – Wellness Center of Palm Beach LLC – and deposited checks meant for her employer into her own, fraudulent business account, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. She deposited more than $352,500 while working for the Wellness Center of Palm Beach.