Former University Plaza director sentenced for fraud

The former director of accounting services at University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center was sentenced yesterday to jail time for stealing nearly $170,000 from the hotel.

Janet Mosier, 47, of Springfield, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $169,864 in restitution, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

In her February guilty plea for wire fraud, Mosier admitted she stole funds January 2003-October 2010 from the University Plaza petty cash account by falsely reporting the amount of cash spent in the account and diverting the excess funds to her own bank account.

To support Mosier's fraudulent, inflated petty cash reports, Mosier submitted receipts from personal expenses and family members' receipts. Mosier altered many of the receipts by removing transaction dates, and she used many of the receipts multiple times. One such receipt, which was actually for her sister's dental expenses, was submitted 30 times during the time frame of the scheme, according to the release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich and was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Springfield Police Department.