Former University Employee Sentenced to Prison for Embezzlement

BERKELEY, CA - A former financial analyst at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley has been sentenced in federal court in Oakland to one year and six months in prison for stealing $390,000 from the institution.

DeSondra Michel Ward, 45, formerly of Pinole, was given the prison term Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who also ordered her to pay $390,000 in restitution.

Ward pleaded guilty before White in November to five counts of theft from a government program. During the plea, she admitted to stealing a total of $390,000 between 2008 and 2014.

The hall is part of the University of California at Berkeley. Ward worked there from June 2007 to March 2015, according to court documents.

Ward started out as an administrative assistant for an elementary and middle school science program. In 2011, she was promoted to the position of a financial analyst for the science program and other projects.

--Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock