BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–Jonathan Dunning, 53, the former CEO of Birmingham Financial FCU and several other organizations, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in a $13.5-million fraud scheme.
The fraud involved redirecting federal dollars that had been meant to provide healthcare for the homeless and poor, and using the credit union to process much of that money. Dunning, who could have gotten as much as 27 years in prison, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein and will report to a designated prison Nov. 29.
Both Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews-Johnson and Dunning's attorney, Bill Athanas, objected to the sentence's length. "The United States always felt that a lengthy sentence was appropriate to reflect the sprawling, extensive scheme and conspiracy that this defendant led and executed for seven years," Matthews-Johnson said. "The community needed to see that individuals such as the defendant will be held accountable. There are consequences for actions and that crimes result in stiff punishment.”
As CUToday.info reported here, Dunning is one of four charged in connection with the fraud which took place over a seven-year period at Birmingham Health Care and Central Alabama Comprehensive Health in Tuskegee.
Rothstein ordered Dunning to pay the following restitution: $7.6 million to HRSA; $5.1 million to Birmingham Health Care (now named Alabama Regional Medical System); $737,515 to CACH; and $122,088 to NCUA. While in prison Dunning will be responsible for paying $50 a month towards paying the restitution.