Former shark research nonprofit treasurer sent to prison in $450K fraud

The former treasurer of a Bradenton nonprofit dedicated to shark and stingray research has been sentenced to three years in jail after pleading no contest in a fraud case worth more than $450,000. 

Christine Bedore, who was treasurer of the American Elasmobranch Society, pleaded no contest to felony charges of scheme to defraud ($50,000 or more) and fraudulent use of personal identification information, according to a statement from the Bradenton Police Department. (No contest is when the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, but accepts a sentence as if he or she were pleading guilty.) 

In addition to the three years in state prison, Bedore, 45, was ordered to pay $452,953 in restitution to AES; she paid $20,000 of the total to the organization in court, BPD says. Bedore was also sentenced to 27 years of probation following her 36-month prison sentence.