Trena Bledsoe Sentenced for Embezzlement

GREENEVILLE, TN—Trena Clayton Bledsoe, age 35, of Rogersville, Tennessee, was sentenced to thirty months imprisonment and five years on supervised release in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, United States District Judge. The sentence was the result of a guilty plea by Bledsoe on September 16, 2008, to an information filed by the United States Attorney, after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging her with embezzlement of funds from a federally insured credit union and with bankruptcy perjury.

Bledsoe was head teller, vault custodian, member services representative, customer service representative, and loan processor of the Rogersville branch of Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union, a member-owned credit union based in Kingsport, Tennessee. For approximately fourteen months in 2006 and 2007, Bledsoe embezzled $105,900 from the credit union. In March 2008, after she was advised by federal law enforcement agents that she was the subject of an investigation, Bledsoe filed false documents with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, knowing them to be false at the time they were made. She also made false statements under oath to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy panel trustee.

James R. “Russ” Dedrick, United States Attorney stated that “In terms of economic uncertainty, the importance of federal banking and bankruptcy laws is underscored. The public must have confidence in the safety of bank accounts and in the integrity of the bankruptcy court process. Credit union and bank employees who steal undermine public confidence in the banking system, a cornerstone of our economy. Bankruptcy debtors who submit false documents and make false statements to the bankruptcy court and trustee undermine the integrity of the bankruptcy court process, which acts as a safety valve for our economy. Bankruptcy judges and trustees must know that statements made under oath are truthful in order for the bankruptcy system to work effectively and fairly.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and the Rogersville Police Department were all involved in the investigation and subsequent indictment, conviction and sentencing of Bledsoe. Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Smith represented the United States.

For additional information, please contact United States Attorney Russ Dedrick, 865-545-4167, Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Smith, 423-823-5020, or Public Information Officer Sharry Dedman-Beard, 865-545-4167.