Former Executive Director of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Husband Sentenced to Prison Terms for Bank Fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Former Executive Director of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Husband Sentenced to Prison Terms for Bank Fraud
Stolen Money Used for Personal Retail Purchases and Services
WASHINGTON – Jeanine Henderson Arnett, 44, the former Executive Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and her husband, Diallo Arnett, 47, have been sentenced to prison terms on bank fraud charges stemming from her embezzlement of more than $228,000.
The Arnetts, of Purcelville, VA., pleaded guilty in April 2021 and were sentenced on Nov. 23, 2021, by the Honorable Randolph D. Moss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Jeanine Henderson Arnett was sentenced to 16 months in prison and Diallo Arnett was sentenced to 12 months and a day. Upon completion of their prison terms, they will be placed on five years of supervised release. They also must pay $228,357 in restitution and an identical amount in a forfeiture money judgment.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division.
According to the statements of offense submitted to the Court at the time of their guilty pleas, Jeanine Henderson Arnett was employed as the Executive Director of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a charitable organization located in the District of Columbia. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., has a long history of community service and partners with programs and other charitable organizations to address issues such as food insecurity, domestic violence, and educational needs for students.
Jeanine Henderson Arnett and Diallo Arnett admitted that, between approximately Oct. 3, 2017 and Sept. 15, 2019, she misappropriated more than $228,000 from Delta Sigma Thetas’s bank accounts through, among other things, ACH money transfers and credit card transactions. This included unauthorized and fraudulent charges for personal items and expenses at, among other places, Amazon, Avis Rent a Car, Century Twenty-One, Coach, GEICO, and T-Mobile. In addition, the Arnetts used the Square Cash App to make nine transactions to transfer $14,162.50 to their account.
Delta Sigma Theta terminated Jeanine Henderson’s employment in August 2019 and discovered financial irregularities a month later. A criminal investigation followed.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Special Agent in Charge Jacobs commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rothstein and David Kent, who investigated and prosecuted the matter, and the assistance provided by former Paralegal Specialist Angeline Thekkumthala.