A Centralia woman who was formerly a top official in the licensing department of the Secretary of State’s office has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $72,500 in restitution on three theft-related counts.
The sentence was handed down in US District Court at Urbana to Candace Wanzo. The prison time will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Assistant US Attorney Greg Harris sought a 27-month sentence noting the scam to defraud had continued for nine years.
Judge Sue Myerscough cited 20 letters of support from her church family, relatives, and friends when deciding on the 18-month prison term.
Wanzo had earlier pleaded guilty to singles counts of mail fraud, intentional misapplication of Secretary of State Fees, and theft of Illinois Department of Revenue Vehicle sales tax payments. Two other mail fraud counts were dismissed as part of the plea last November.
As a result of the conviction, Wanzo will lose her pension benefits.
A search of her office by the State Inspector General in 2017 turned up more than $155,000 in uncashed checks and money orders and a large number of license plates and registration tags.
Before getting the Secretary of State job, Wanzo served a 15-month prison term in the 1990s for embezzling more than $230,000 from Southern Illinois University. She was also ordered to make restitution in that case.
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