Long Time Accounting Technician for Hotel at JBLM Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling more than $250,000

            A Tacoma woman who worked for more than 27 years at a military hotel on Joint Base Lewis McChord was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to two years in prison for theft of more than $250,000 in government funds, announced Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  GAIL JEANETTE MOODY, 52, was hired in 1985 as a desk clerk at the Rainier Inn on what was then Fort Lewis.  She worked her way up over the years to an accounting position where she reconciled the cash receipts at the hotel along with other payments, and made deposits into the Armed Forces Bank.  Records from the hotel reveal that between September of 2010 and October of 2012, MOODY stole more than $250,000 in cash receipts.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said MOODY “violated a position of trust . . . . it’s a lot of money.  It’s a lot of deception.”

            The Rainier Inn was operated by the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide low cost lodging to active duty military personnel, persons under official military orders from the United States Department of Defense, retired military personnel, and their families.  Profits earned by the hotel were funneled back into the facilities so DOD could provide the benefit of low cost lodging.  According to records filed in the case, MOODY was a trusted employee with access to the locked security container where desk clerks put receipts at the end of their shifts.  In August 2012 when MOODY took an extended leave, the staff discovered significant discrepancies regarding the cash receipts and what had been deposited into the hotel bank accounts.  A forensic review revealed MOODY had altered records to disguise the fact that she was taking the cash for her own use.  MOODY abruptly quit her job when confronted about the discrepancies.

            After completing her prison sentence, MOODY is required to get treatment for a gambling addiction pursuant to the terms of her three years supervised release.

            The case was investigated by the FBI.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Wilson.