New York Woman Sentenced in Portland for Bank Fraud, Passport Fraud, and Identity Theft
Arlene Sands, 61, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for bank fraud, false use of a passport, and aggravated identity theft after attempting to withdraw $17,000 from a credit union account using a fake passport card.
3 reports on this incident · first at Sep 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET
Earlier reports
Sep 10, 2026, 5:22 p.m. ET
Two Women Sentenced in Separate Federal Fraud Cases
Two women were sentenced in separate federal fraud cases, according to court records and reporting from three outlets.
Crystal Sherrell Jackson, 40, of Charlotte, was sentenced after being charged with healthcare fraud, transactional money laundering, wire fraud, and not paying payroll taxes, according to abc17news.com, krcgtv.com and townhall.com. Townhall.com reported that Jackson submitted fraudulent claims to the North Carolina Medicaid Program for psychotherapy services and urine drug testing that were never provided, and engaged in transactional money laundering by spending the proceeds of her unlawful scheme. The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the North Carolina Attorney General's Medicaid Investigations Division were involved in the investigation, according to townhall.com.
Kathryn L. Cunningham, 66, was also sentenced. The government claimed Cunningham embezzled from the payroll account held for her company's clients, stealing about $1.5 million for her personal benefit and to run her company, and gambled away payroll deposits at Isle of Capri Casino, according to abc17news.com. KRCGTV.com reported that Cunningham had used some of the money for her personal expenses.
Reports of the sentences conflict. Townhall.com reported that one defendant received 48 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $1,623,983.08 in restitution. KRCGTV.com reported two concurrent sentences of 18 months, while abc17news.com reported 18 months in federal prison. The district was reported as the Western District of North Carolina by townhall.com and as the Western District Court by krcgtv.com. The date of the sentencings was September 1, 2026, according to court records.
Sep 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ETFirst report
New York Woman Sentenced for Bank Fraud, Passport Fraud, and Identity Theft
A New York woman was sentenced on September 1, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Portland for bank fraud, false use of a passport, and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. sentenced Arlene Sands, 61, to 25 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Sands will also be ordered to pay restitution. She pleaded guilty on July 16, 2025.
According to court records, in February 2023, Sands attempted to withdraw $17,000 from a credit union account belonging to two victims. She claimed to be one of the victims and presented a fake U.S. passport card bearing her image but the victim's name and date of birth. Credit union staff did not complete the transaction.
The U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service investigated the case with assistance from the Portland Police Department.
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Sources
- NC Woman Sentenced to Nine Years for $1.6M Medicaid Fraud Schemetownhall.com
- Columbia businesswoman sentenced to 18 months in federal prisonabc17news.com
- Rocheport woman sentenced to prison after guilty plea to wire fraud, not paying taxeskrcgtv.com
- NY Medicaid fraudster, caught on camera stacking kickback cash in $64M scheme, learns her fatenypost.com
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/pr/new-york-woman-sentenced-multiple-fraud-offenses-0
Revision history
- Version 110 Sept 2026, 21:22current
First published.
- Version 11 Sept 2026, 13:00current
First published.
- Version 110 Sept 2026, 21:53current
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