Idaho Woman to Repay $1.4 Million to Hospital for Wire Fraud

BOISE, Idaho (KLIX)-A Horseshoe Bend woman has agreed to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution after taking a plea deal for stealing from an Idaho hospital charity fundraiser since 2005.

Lois Soito, 60, pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud in a federal court in Boise earlier on Wednesday and will be sentenced early next year, according to U.S. Attorney Bart Davis. Soito agreed to pay restitution to Saint Alphonsus Health System, her former employer, of $1,483,963.82 and could face a $250,000 fine, 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Soito had worked for Sain Alphonsus in the accounts receivable department and had access to money brought in by the Festival of Trees. Court records show Soito started keeping some of the checks from the event in 2005 and deposited the funds into another account and then write checks to herself then deposit those into a personal account. The federal felony charges came as a result of the interstate transmission of wires.