A former state Family Drug Court clerk pleaded guilty Thursday to theft and paid back the money she stole by spending $930 worth of Kmart gift cards meant as rewards for program participants.
Filo Lise Atuatasi-Pouono faces no more than four years of probation, with no jail time, when she is sentenced in July, according to the terms of her plea agreement with the state attorney general’s office. She has asked for a deferral of her guilty plea for an opportunity to keep her criminal record conviction-free.
State Circuit Judge Richard Perkins will decide at sentencing whether to grant Atuatasi-Pouono a deferral.
Second-degree theft is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Atuatasi-Pouono has agreed to perform 250 hours of community service and to write a letter of apology to the Family Court as part of her sentence.
She declined comment outside the courtroom following her guilty plea.
Her lawyer Tommy Waters said, "She feels terrible about what she did. She came clean, took responsibility and made restitution."
Waters handed Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young a check from Atuatasi-Pouono for $900 in court. He handed Young another check for $30 outside the courtroom.
Atuatasi-Pouono admitted that she spent the $930 worth of gift cards — valued at $10 or $20 each — between May 31 and Oct. 22 last year.
The state says she spent them mostly on incidental purchases like cigarettes, soda, candy and pizza. She also bought DVDs, clothes and canned food, and even used multiple cards to make purchases.
The state Judiciary placed Atuatasi-Pouono on administrative leave while it investigated the case and fired her March 24.
Drug Court provides qualifying criminal defendants substance abuse treatment services and the opportunity to avoid conviction if they complete the court’s program.
