Former Tyson Foods Manager Gets 28 Months in $550K Fraud Case

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A former benefits plans manager for Tyson Foods Inc. has been sentenced to 28 months for defrauding the company of about $550,000 over a nine-year period.

Brenda Blair, 48, of Gentry was sentenced to federal prison followed by two years of supervised release on one count of wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $551,343.52.

U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, from June 2005 to September 2014, Blair orchestrated a scheme to steal money from the company by generating fraudulent payments in the name of actual participants in the Pre-65 Retiree Health Insurance Benefits Plan, and directing these payments to her own bank accounts.

Blair pleaded guilty in September 2015. She worked for the company for more than 25 years.