Ill. woman admits stealing from pediatrics office

EAST ST. LOUIS) — A southwestern Illinois woman faces up to 20 years in prison now that she’s admitted embezzling nearly $1 million from a pediatrics office she had managed.

Seventy-year-old Flora Buckingham of Granite City pleaded guilty to mail fraud Wednesday in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis.

Authorities say that, from May 2004 to November 2010, Buckingham embezzled from Ahmad and Rana Pediatrics in Granite City by writing third-party checks to pay her credit card. Buckingham disguised the payments as legitimate expenses in the office’s ledgers.

As part of her deal with prosecutors, Buckingham must repay the office $921,000 and is barred from visiting casinos before her Jan. 3 sentencing hearing.