Saturday, July 01, 2000
Cancer Society says audit shows more money gone
Former Ohio executive may have taken $7.5 million
By Charley Gillespie
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — The American Cancer Society's Ohio chapter is missing an additional $600,000, a spokesman for the organization said Friday.
The spokesman, Harvey Schwartz, said the audit showed Daniel Wiant, former chief administrative officer for the society's Ohio division, may have taken $7.5 million from the organization. The amount missing originally was reported to be $6.9 million.
Mr. Wiant is accused of stealing the money by wiring it to a bank account in Austria. If convicted of bank fraud, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Mr. Schwartz said the audit showed money was stolen by falsifying financial records, making invalid bank transfers and making false purchase orders. He said Mr. Wiant also is accused of using names of other employees to obtain credit cards for himself.
Mr. Wiant's attorney, Kevin Durkin, said Friday his client is continuing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and will not comment on the audit until its completion.
Results of the audit being conducted by the independent accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers were released after a newspaper reported Friday that the FBI is investigating whether a former co-worker helped Mr. Wiant in the alleged theft.
The Columbus Dispatch, citing sources it did not identify, reported that the second employee might have assisted or benefited from earlier alleged thefts by Mr. Wiant.
The FBI on Friday would not discuss the possibility of another suspect.
U.S. Attorney Dale Williams said Friday that his office will investigate the audit's findings to determine whether additional federal charges will be filed.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said his office will work with federal authorities to determine whether filing both state and federal charges is appropriate.
“If Wiant only gets sentenced to five years instead of 30, we would probably file additional state charges,” he said Friday.
Mr. Schwartz said the $100,000 stolen by Cancer Society accountant Charlotte Doster is not part of the missing $600,000 uncovered by the audit. Ms. Doster pleaded guilty to aggravated grand theft earlier this month. Cancer Society officials said she was writing checks to herself.
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