Former owner and partner of small technology company sentenced for her role in the theft of $1.9 million

Washington, D.C. - Pamela Torkelson, a former owner and partner of a small technology company, has been sentenced for her role in the theft of $1.9 million, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Ms. Torkelsen, 46, of Columbia, South Carolina, and formerly of Princeton, New Jersey, was sentenced on Monday, March 17, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton in connection with her role in stealing more than $1.9 million from Acorn Technology Fund (ATF). ATF was a Small Business Investment Company, licensed and funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), responsible for lending money to start-up technology business concerns. Torkelson pled guilty to to Interstate Transportation of Stolen or Fraudulently obtained Property in 2005.

Following a sentence reduction under the advisory sentencing guidelines based on Ms. Torkelsen’s substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of other persons, Judge Walton sentenced Ms. Torkelsen to four months in jail, to be followed by four months home detention and supervised release of three years. Ms Torkelsen was also ordered to pay restitution of $153,658.

According to the government’s evidence, Ms. Torkelsen and others participated in the theft of over $1.9 million in funds from ATF by issuing checks, wire transfers and other payments for their personal benefit. Torkelsen’s former husband, John Torkelsen, who controlled the day-to-day affairs of ATF, was sentenced in 2006 to 70 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years supervised release, relating to his felony conviction for making a false entry in the books and records of ATF.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the work of Special Agent Gerry Crispino of the SBA Inspector General's Office and Special Agents Hans Martin and Mark Benjamin of the FBI. In addition, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the efforts of Legal Assistants Teesha Tobias, Michael Thompson and Lisa Robinson, Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Griffith and Judith Kidwell, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Shapiro of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who handled related civil proceedings.