Photo Courtesy of Insurance Journal
A 31-year-old woman from Woodhaven, has been sentenced to jail and probation after pleading guilty to grand larceny for stealing more than $65,000 from her pre-teen daughter’s malpractice lawsuit settlement.
Megan Mele, 31, pleaded guilty in September 2016, to second-degree grand larceny.
Mele admittedly used the pilfered cash for a liposuction/tummy tuck procedure and other personal uses.
District Attorney Brown said, “Instead of safeguarding her daughter’s malpractice award – money set aside for the disabled youngster’s future – the defendant admittedly dipped into the account to finance a Disneyland trip, cosmetic surgery, online shopping and other splurges.”
Last week, Acting Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin-Brandt sentenced Mele to six months’ incarceration to be followed by five years’ probation.
According to the charges, in January 2007, a settlement was reached in a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of Megan Mele’s daughter, who was born in November 2004.
The baby was diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury to her right arm. As a result of the injury, the child has extremely limited – if any – function from her right shoulder down to her hand. The agreed settlement was structured for the girl to receive payments starting after her 18 birthday in 2022.
As part of the settlement, an account to benefit the little girl containing more than $50,000 was established at Cross County Federal Savings Bank in March 2007. According to the criminal charges, the defendant was required to submit requests to the court before making any withdrawals from the bank account.
In March of 2015, the defendant petitioned the judge in charge of the case to approve a withdrawal of $47,000 but the judge denied her request. Then, on March 27, the defendant submitted a forged court order to withdraw the funds, purportedly for the child to undergo surgery at a San Diego children’s hospital.
A bank check was issued in Mele’s name on that date for $47,000. An investigation revealed no record of the girl being a patient at the San Diego hospital. What the investigation did reveal however was an expenditure for a trip to Disneyland in California.
Court records also show that Mele submitted forged court orders to the bank requesting a total of $19,500 on three addition occasions between June and August 2015. On each occasion, bank checks were issued in the defendant’s name.
On September 22, 2015, Mele used another forged court order to request the remaining funds ($633.74) in the account but the bank denied her request.
In addition to the Disneyland vacation, Mele splurged on a liposuction procedure for a tummy tuck, airline tickets, Amazon.com purchases and purchases at local retail stores.
