SEATTLE — A respiratory therapist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing a ventilator and other medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic and selling it for personal gain.
Gene Wamsley, 42, of Bonney Lake, must remain on nine months of home confinement once he’s released from prison under the sentencing ordered Monday by U.S. District Judge James Robart.
“This is an extremely serious offense, quite independent of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was exploiting patients,” Robart said during the hearing.
U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said the fraud impeded efforts to care for the elderly and veterans.