BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A Boise woman has been sentenced to five years of probation for misusing money intended for a program supporting veterans on personal purchases, including a trip to Washington, D.C. and more than $1,000 spent at a California resort.
U.S. Attorney Bart Davis announced the sentence against 40-year-old Szilvia Rideg on Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors say Rideg worked as the executive director of the Idaho Veterans Research and Education Foundation from 2015 to 2018, and that in 2016 she began using the foundation’s credit card to make unauthorized charges at places like Sunglass Hut and Victoria’s Secret. Prosecutors say she misapplied over $44,000 belonging to the foundation, and then altered the foundation’s checking account statements to cover up the misuse.
Ridig paid more than $44,000 in restitution before her sentencing for federal program theft, a felony.