NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Melissa Goodwin, 56, the Nashville-based former Executive Vice President and General Manager of the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer Research, was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for embezzling over $3.7 million from the company. She was also ordered to pay nearly $4 million in restitution.
Goodwin was caught purchasing about $3.96 million in online tickets using the Foundation's credit card in her name. The purchases included tickets to musical events, like Lady Gaga and Celine Dion concerts, and sporting events, such as Super Bowl LIV.
She also used the credit card to buy expensive and rare alcohols, plane tickets and hotel stays. The Foundation's bank accounts were used to pay the charges. None of these purchases went to the benefit of the Foundation.
The Foundation's accounting firm was then sent falsified credit card statements and false expense reports which Goodwin had altered to hide the illegitimate expenses.
Often, the name of the actual vendor was changed to appear more legitimate. Over $3 million total in fraudulent credit card expenses were incurred and hidden.
The Foundation's periodic financial statements are prepared by its accounting firm based on given statements and expense reports.
The final financial statements, made with the already fraudulent information from Goodwin, were then sent to Goodwin to pass along to the Foundation's CEO, Laura Heatherly. Before Goodwin did so, she altered the documents further. She inflated the company's assets and lowered its liabilities, making it appear more liquid than it truly was. These changes prevented the Foundation from detecting her fraud for years.
Goodwin also forged Heatherly's signature on six checks, totaling over $966,000 in additional unapproved expenditures.
Goodwin was first promoted to her executive position in August of 2018.
"As the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Foundation, I look forward to always pursuing the standard of excellence Tony Martell set forth when he founded the Foundation as a way to honor his son. I am honored at the trust the Foundation has put in me and look forward to elevating the awareness of the organization – Music’s Promise for a Cure," Goodwin said in a statement at the time of her promotion.
