A former Big Island woman now living in Las Vegas was sentenced Wednesday in Honolulu to 33 months in federal prison for defrauding Waste Management of Hawaii Inc. of $862,722 over a period of four years.
Donna Alms, 55, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud and money laundering for offenses that occurred while she was an operations specialist for Waste Management on the Big Island. Alms’ duties included obtaining temporary laborers to pick litter from Waste Management’s landfill site and to arrange for their payment through an outside vendor.
During court proceedings, Alms admitted that she inflated approximately 247 invoices submitted to Waste Management by the vendor by cutting and pasting numbers onto a template that she maintained. Alms’ activities caused Waste Management to pay the vendor $862,722 in costs above what was actually billed.
Alms then directed the vendor to return $692,549 of the excess payments to her, calling them “wages” to disguise the nature, source, and ownership of the funds.
U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson imposed the sentence, noting Alms’ conduct was elaborate and repetitive. Alms was also ordered to pay restitution of $862,722 and to serve a three-year term of supervision, the federal version of probation, following her release.
According to records, Alms formerly lived in Pahoa, Honokaa, Waikoloa and Kailua-Kona.