A Rodeo woman has been sentenced in federal court in San Francisco to six and one-half years in prison for defrauding an international disaster-relief charity of $94,325.
Sharee Hall, 34, was convicted in October of one count of committing wire fraud by arranging an online transfer of $94,325 from a Bank of America account of a charity called One Foundation to her personal banking account at an HSBC Bank branch in Oakland in 2009.
Hall was also convicted of a second count of carrying out money laundering in 2009 by purchasing a $102,500 cashier’s check with money obtained through wire fraud.
Hall was given the prison sentence Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who also ordered her to pay $94,325 in restitution.
The One Foundation was created in 2007 by Chinese-born actor and martial arts star Jet Li, who is now a citizen of Singapore.
The foundation works with the Red Cross Society of China to aid people stricken by disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
An indictment issued against Hall last year alleged that she linked her personal account at HSBC in Oakland with a foundation account at a Bank of America branch in Los Angeles, without the foundation’s knowledge or consent.
Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed last week, “The government still does not know how the defendant obtained the information necessary to access One Foundation’s bank account.”
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said Seeborg concluded in connection with the sentencing that Hall obstructed justice by committing perjury during her eight-day jury trial in October.
Hall has been in custody since her arrest on March 25, 2011, Haag said.
Julia Cheever, Bay City News
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