A former Maryland employee convicted of stealing $1.7 million from a state program that helps low-income residents pay for critical medical treatment was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday, Attorney General Douglas Gansler said.
Donna McRae Lam, 51, will also have to pay back $1.5 million. She pleaded guilty in October.
Between 1997 and 2007, Lam, a claims processor for the Maryland Kidney Disease Program, created 917 fake claims for payment. She and her husband opened numerous bank accounts and post office boxes to collect the state checks that were issued for the claims.
The couple spent the stolen cash on real estate, cars, jewelry and gifts.
The kidney program helps low-income residents with severe kidney problems cover the costs of their treatment.
Before sentencing, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Sylvester Cox called Lam’s actions “the highest form of the violation of trust by a public employee.”
