A judge has sentenced a former office manager at Women’s Health of Augusta to prison for embezzling nearly $900,000.
Susan Thigpen, 63, was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison for doubling her own salary while supervising the OBGYN office.
Superior Court Judge John Flythe sentenced Thigpen to 30 years with the first 17 to be served in prison, according to District Attorney Jared Williams. She was also ordered to pay $900,000 in restitution.
“My position on this is simple. White collar crime is still crime,” Williams said in a statement.
After Thigpen quit her job, months went by before new office employees realized the theft or noticed that the office manager was making $162,000 a year. Her crime unraveled with an investigation by computer forensic specialists with the GBI.
The probe climaxed in 2020 with a GBI search warrant at the suspect’s Dearing home and her subsequent arrest for computer forgery and theft by taking.
Thigpen was responsible for processing payroll and had access to the online portal with Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP). She deceitfully increased her salary without authorization, paying herself more between January 2014 and June 2019. She stole $893,000 more than she was authorized to take as salary, authorities said.
When news broke of her arrest, local reaction was quick, with Deana L. Dickey saying she was not surprised.
“[Thigpen] was crooked when I worked for her,” Dickey said. “And she was cruel to many of her employees and didn’t pay any of us well at all. Now I see why.”
Shannon Shealy added, “Greed will overtake and kill a man, or woman.”
Women’s Health of Augusta provides comprehensive Obstetrics & Gynecological Care for women of all ages. The office is located at 1303 D’Antignac Street in Augusta and has been providing care in the area for over 40 years.
