Man gets 2 years in theft from nonprofit

Said brain tumor prompted him to steal $130,000

The judge didn't buy the defense counsel's argument that a brain tumor led his client to embezzle more than $100,000 from a nonprofit health center in Roxbury.

Instead, US District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. sentenced Andrew Ma, 34, of South Weymouth, to two years in prison yesterday, the maximum sentence under federal guidelines.

Ma, a former senior accountant at the Dimock Community Health Center, pleaded guilty in October to stealing $130,000 over two years from the health center.

The theft constituted a federal crime because Dimock receives US grants of more than $10,000.

Ma, a convicted sex offender with an extensive criminal record, argued that he should receive a reduced sentence because he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

He said the tumor led him to steal the money.

"He believes he's mentally disturbed," argued Geoffrey G. Nathan, a Boston lawyer who represented Ma. "He has a significantly impaired ability to know what is wrong."

Prosecutors argued that Ma's crimes were anything but impulsive. They argued that the theft required "diligent and systematic" calculation.

Ma said he embezzled the money from Dimock by stealing cash from the cashier's office; using the center's debit card to make cash withdrawals, including withdrawals at casinos; and using its debit card to buy items such as electronics and jewelry, which he sometimes returned for cash.

To conceal his fraud, prosecutors said, Ma altered Dimock's daily bank account statements and created fictitious or inaccurate entries on various accounting reports.

"The bulk of his activity was planned . . . [and] he went to great lengths to cover up his transactions," said Vassili N. Thomadakis, an assistant US attorney who prosecuted the case. "The defendant's conduct was egregious. For the defendant to steal that much money from a community organization is really beyond the pale."

Dimock officials declined to comment.

Thomadakis added that the health center is still suffering from the theft.

He said the center has had a hard time raising money because it has lost the confidence of some donors.

Before O'Toole ordered Ma to make full restitution and serve three years of probation after his release, his wife asked the judge for a limited sentence.

She blamed herself for the crimes, saying he did it because she pressured him "to support my materialistic values."

"I hear him say every day that he hates himself for his actions," said his wife, who declined to provide her name.

"He doesn't intend to harm."

When asked if he wanted to address the court, Ma said: "I'm deeply sorry for the actions that brought me here today."