A former employee of the Starke County Sheriff’s Department has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud in federal court.
According to court documents, Pamela McDonald admitted to stealing more than $20,000 from the Starke County Jail’s commissary fund while she was employed as a jail matron there. The thefts are alleged to have happened between August 2022 and May 2023.
McDonald was responsible for managing commissary funds, which are set aside for inmate-related expenses and other official county business. McDonald admitted to making at least nineteen unauthorized withdrawals from commissary funds and making transfers into her personal bank account.
As part of her plea agreement, McDonald admitted that she intentionally carried out the plan and that she used electronic transfers, which brings the case under federal wire fraud statues.
McDonald now faces a maximum sentence of up to twenty years in prison, along with possible fines and restitution. She has also agreed to repay the stolen money, with the exact amount to be determined by the courts.
Sentencing is expected to take place in May of this year.
