The former Chief Financial officer of Acadian Medical Center in Eunice, La was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud for embezzling $192.047.03 from the physician's student loan repayment program,, Acting United States Attorney William J. Flanagan announced Tuesday.

Melissa Hanks Bordelon, 40, of Nashville, Tenn., was also sentenced to three years supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution to the hospital in the amount of $192,047.03. Tuesday's sentence was imposed by U.S. District judge Richard T. Haik.

Acadian Medical Center (AMC) offered a student loan repayment program, and paid student loans on behalf of their physicians while they were employed at the hospital.  As Chief Financial Officer, Bordelon carried out a scheme to defraud by causing AMC to issue checks in excess of what was necessary to make the loan payments.  Bordelon then converted these excess funds for her own personal use.  Bordelon carried out this scheme from September 2004 through February 2008, and issued these fraudulently obtained money orders to her personal creditors on over 91 separate occasions, totaling $192,047.03.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Collin Sims.