A Martinez woman accused of racketeering when she stole nearly $300,000 working for the dean of the Dental College will serve no time in prison.
Dawn Nichole Gantt, 43, received a sentence of 15 years probation Thursday from Chief Superior Court Judge Daniel J. Craig. Her probation is subject to the condition Gantt repay the university $278,000 in restitution Thursday, which she did.
While working as office coordinator under Dean Carol Lefebvre, Gantt had sole control of the “Dean’s Discretionary Fund,” intended to cover travel and training expenses for dental students, faculty and staff.
Less than a year after joining the dean’s office in 2015, Gantt began making inappropriate disbursements to herself, according to her indictment, which named 288 instances of theft.
Gantt’s thefts began with ATM withdrawals of cash, but she soon began paying personal bills with the account, it said. The Leadership Columbia County graduate grew bolder, paying for travel expenses with the account and even homeowners association dues. In 2022 she made over $10,000 in purchases from Louis Vuitton.
The funds came from revenues from the dental college’s nonprofit dental practice. When the account ran low, Gantt submitted requests to the associate dean of business and finance, who issued checks to replenish the funds, according to the indictment.
The case was investigated by the Augusta University Police Department and prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Public Integrity and White Collar Crime Unit.
At her sentencing hearing Thursday, Gantt’s attorneys said she’d sold her house and liquidated her retirement account in an effort to pay the restitution. In addition, her mother had liquidated her retirement account and taken out a mortgage on her home, where Gantt is now living, they said.
In addition to restitution, Gantt must pay a $75,000 fine within 12 months, remain employed full-time but never again in a position of financial trust, and be subject to searches of her property and finances without a warrant.
