By WMAY Newsroom
Photo: Shutterstock
A former administrator in Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office has been sentenced to federal prison for a fraud scheme that cost the state more than $300,000.
58-year-old Candace Wanzo ran the public service center in the Howlett Building in Springfield, overseeing customer payment of license and registration fees and sales tax for the sale of vehicles. Prosecutors say she stole hundreds of thousands of dollars for her own use, and used proceeds from other transactions to cover the missing money until the scheme was finally detected.
Under a plea agreement, Wanzo will serve a total of 18 months in prison and has been ordered to pay restitution.
A former Illinois Secretary of State office administrator and supervisor of vehicle services was sentenced last week for her part in defrauding that office and the Illinois Department of Revenue of nearly $350,000.
Candace Wanzo, 58, of Centralia, was sentenced to 18 months each on two counts of theft and one count of fraud in federal court in Springfield. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Wanzo pleaded guilty in November. A second count of fraud and a third count of theft were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Wanzo was ordered to pay more than $72,500 in restitution.
Wanzo resigned from her office in 2018, a year after she was placed on administrative leave and an investigation was opened up against by the Secretary of State s office.