Woman who stole $30,000 from UT sentenced to 6 months in jail

1/23/2018

A former University of Toledo employee who stole at least $30,000 from UT was sentenced Tuesday to six months in the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio.

Wilhelmina Regina Sullivan, 39, of the 1000 block of Alldays Avenue, pleaded no contest Sept. 5 to theft in office, a third-degree felony, for using a university credit card to make personal purchases, the amount of which remains in dispute. She was working as a secretary in the school of exercise and rehabilitation sciences when she resigned in lieu of discharge May 5.

In addition to the jail time, Lucas County Common Pleas Judge James Bates placed Sullivan on community control for five years and ordered her to perform 100 hours of community service.

“This is very offensive to me — stealing from the university,” Judge Bates said. “They entrusted you with a credit card, and you've admitted that you've stolen at least $30,000. They think it's more like $60,000.”

He set a hearing for March 1 to determine the amount of restitution Sullivan must pay.

Defense attorney Jenelda Witcher said Sullivan knew she did wrong and was remorseful. Sullivan was going through a difficult time when she stole the money, having married a man who had cancer and died six months later, Ms. Witcher said.