Former NTMC comptroller sentenced to prison

Megan Gray Hatfield Register Staff Writer, Gainesville Daily Register, Texas
·2 min read

Apr. 29—A former North Texas Medical Center comptroller who stole close to half a million from the hospital has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Kristine Irene Lynch, 44, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison Wednesday, April 28, by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan. As part of her sentence, Lynch was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $467,280, according to a press release from the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney's Office.

Lynch was employed at NTMC, 1900 Hospital Blvd., from 2006 until August 2017 as comptroller. As comptroller, she was able to print checks herself, or have checks printed on her behalf.

Officials said Lynch devised a scheme to print checks for personal use, or to have employees print them for her, drawn against the NTMC bank account. She then voided the checks in the accounting system after they cleared the bank in order to disguise her scheme, according to the release. Lynch spent the proceeds derived from the fraudulent checks for her own personal use.

A later audit revealed that Lynch was responsible for a total of 113 fraudulent checks, resulting in a total loss of $467,280.

A representative for NTMC has not returned a request for comment as of press time. However, an official did say all details the hospital had on the theft were included in the release.

"Schemes like this can cripple an institution," acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei was quoted as saying in the release. "One person's greed can wreak havoc on countless others."

Lynch, of Pilot Point, pleaded guilty to bank fraud on Nov. 12, 2020.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Tatum.

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