Undiagnosed Sleep Apnea Caused Six Years Sentence To Manhattan Travel Agent For $25 Million Stealing Fraud

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 at 10:27 PM

: Travel agent Victoria Wofford blamed her massive theft on her sleeping problems/Siegel for News

A Manhattan travel agent who was sentenced Monday to up to six years in prison for stealing $25 million blamed her crimes on a lack of sleep.

Victoria Wofford, 54, admitted stealing a stunning $17 million from American Express through fraudulent charges on defunct business travel accounts.

And she swiped another $8 million from a defense contractor by systematically over billing them for travel booked through her company.

“I’m not sure what I was thinking at the time, it may have had something to do with the undiagnosed sleep apnea that I apparently suffered from for many, many years,” Wofford told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus before he sent her to prison.

It was not clear if the self-described “workaholic” has since been diagnosed or is being treated for the disorder that causes a person to periodically stop breathing while they sleep and can leave them drowsy and confused during waking hours.

“It’s not a defense, she pleaded guilty,” Wofford’s lawyer, Thomas Puccio, insisted after the court hearing.

Wofford, who faces two to six years behind bars, agreed to repay the $25 million she stole between 2006 and 2010 - but has not yet begun to pay the money back, Manhattan prosecutors said.

Officials charged that Wofford used the money to build her company, Tri-Pen Management Corp., which had offices in Nevada and Texas, buy an apartment in Florida for her husband and give him $2.4 million to invest in a restaurant chain.

Wofford also agreed to sell her Manhattan apartment to repay a separate outstanding debt she owes Amex, officials said.