Sally Kirby Pleads Guilty To Hunger Free Vermont Embezzlement

The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Sally Kirby, 61, of Essex, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a federal forgery charge. U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III released Kirby on conditions pending sentencing, which is set for September 26.

On April 25, 2016, the United States Attorney's Office filed a one-count information charging Kirby with forging checks of her employer, Hunger Free Vermont. Kirby pled guilty to that charge today. According to the information, Hunger Free Vermont is a non-profit educational and advocacy organization which provides nutrition education and access to nutrition programs to Vermont's children, families and communities. In 2004, Sally Kirby was hired as the Director of Finance for HFV. Her duties included handling payroll, accounts payable, financial statements and grant allocations.

According to the information, between June 2009 and September 2015, Kirby embezzled about $165,000 from the organization. She did that primarily by issuing HFV checks to herself without authorization, then forging the signature of HFV's executive director on the checks. She deposited many of the checks into a personal credit union account she maintained. Kirby attempted to conceal her embezzlement by altering some entries in HFV's accounting system to make it appear as though checks she issued to herself had been made payable to vendors. The embezzlement was discovered last October.

Kirby faces up to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Kirby is represented by Federal Public Defender Michael Desautels. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.