Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 12/02/03

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Chief Deputy Larry Scoufos Deputy District Attorney: Maria Leftwich

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

DEFENDANT MESA SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS
AND EIGHT MONTHS PRISON FOR EMBEZZLEMENT

Today, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Cerena Wong sentenced Rose Mesa to state prison for the maximum term of eight years and eight months after she was convicted of two felony counts. The Sonoma County Probation Department recommended the maximum sentence. She was charged by the Sonoma County District Attorney with embezzlement of funds from her employer Applied Anagramics, the parent company for 1(800) DENTIST. Mesa was hired by the company in 1991 as an office assistant to perform bookkeeping services. In 1998 she was promoted to vice president with the responsibility of keeping the business records.

Mesa forged the business owner's name on the company checks to embezzle approximately 1.5 million dollars between 1994 through 2002. She was convicted of one count of embezzlement in violation of Penal Code Section 487, with an enhancement for stealing over $100,000. She was also convicted of one count of grand theft for stealing from the personal accounts of the business owners. The precise amount of restitution owed will be determined by the court during a hearing scheduled for February 18, 2004.

Deputy District Attorney Maria Leftwich, assigned to the Major Fraud Unit, prosecuted the defendant. Detective Mike Clark of the Santa Rosa Police Department's Property Crimes Unit was in charge of the investigation.