Former Wenatchee LDS Stake President Sentenced to Four Years for Embezzling Clinic Funds

A former Wenatchee health care executive and LDS stake president has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for embezzling funds from Community Clinic Network, or CCN. The scheme cost the company, which managed money for Washington health clinics, more than $24 million.

U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Patrick Alan Bucknum on September 23 in Spokane and ordered him to pay $24,368,427.37 in restitution to CCN. 

Judge Rice also imposed three years of supervised release. Bucknum was taken into custody at the hearing.

Rice’s 48-month sentence exceeded both sides’ written sentencing recommendations.

Prosecutors sought 45 months, while the defense asked for 36. The sentence was three months below the low end of the 51-to-63-month advisory range cited by both sides.

Bucknum pleaded guilty June 24 to one count of wire fraud after waiving his right to a grand jury indictment. We reported the charge in May.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said the losses had delayed, reduced or put on hold plans to expand and strengthen services at Eastern Washington clinics. They cited victim impact statements describing the financial and operational harm.

In a victim statement quoted by prosecutors, Columbia Valley Community Health described those harmed as “working families, farmworkers, children, seniors, and vulnerable patients who depend on community health centers for access to essential healthcare services.”

Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic CEO Christy Bracewell Trotter delivered a victim impact statement at the hearing, according to court minutes. Bucknum also addressed the court.

CCN, based in Wenatchee, managed health care payment contracts for clinics across Washington. Bucknum helped form the company in 2010 and became its chief executive in 2017, also serving as chief financial officer and chief operations officer, prosecutors wrote.

From 2017 through 2023, Bucknum took about $30.39 million from CCN to fund investments, initially intending to keep the profits and return the money, prosecutors wrote. He returned about $7.36 million, leaving a net loss of roughly $23.03 million from the investment scheme.

The theft extended beyond the investment scheme. Prosecutors said Bucknum also spent CCN money on a Tesla, a boat, a Chevrolet Silverado EV and nearly $1.2 million in gold coins.

Prosecutors said Bucknum concealed the theft through transfers between accounts, false financial records and altered bank statements. His attorneys acknowledged that he had manipulated the company’s books to hide the depletion of its reserves.

“From 2017 to 2024, he engaged in a deliberate and systematic course of conduct that caused significant financial harm to CCN,” the defense wrote.

Bucknum’s attorneys argued that his decision to confess before an investigation warranted a shorter prison term. They also cited his Marine Corps service, lack of criminal history, professional accomplishments and willingness to repay as much as he could.

Bucknum disclosed the embezzlement to the Department of Justice through counsel on Oct. 7, 2024, and resigned from CCN the same day, according to prosecutors.

The defense maintained that he could have kept the crime hidden for years longer. Prosecutors argued that discovery had become inevitable, noting that Bucknum had considered confessing in 2019 but continued taking millions more.

Prosecutors nevertheless credited his eventual disclosure, early guilty plea and efforts to return assets in recommending a sentence below the advisory range.

Bucknum served as president of the Wenatchee Washington Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2019. Church News recorded his appointment that April and his successor’s appointment that October.

Six of the seven character letters submitted by the defense described relationships with Bucknum through church life. They included accounts from people who had held leadership positions, members of congregations he had led, and friends who joined him in service projects. Several writers acknowledged the seriousness of his conduct while urging the court to consider his history of service.

Hal Hunsaker, Bucknum’s predecessor as stake president, wrote that he had served as Bucknum’s ecclesiastical leader from 2010 to 2019. He described Bucknum counseling people in distress as a bishop and helping connect children with special needs to therapy services. “I do not condone his actions,” Hunsaker wrote.

Douglas Clay wrote that he had served as a counselor in a church presidency overseeing 13 congregations when Bucknum became a bishop. He recalled Bucknum’s volunteer work, including helping with roofing projects at Clay’s homes.

Jason Tveten described shared church activities, volunteer clinic work and help during a wildfire evacuation. Jeff Stevens recalled Bucknum leading their congregation and ministering to his family, while Randy Priebe described their longtime friendship and shared church service.

John Donaghy, who knew Bucknum as both his bishop and stake president, recalled a roof-replacement project and career mentoring. He also described the damage to the trust placed in Bucknum’s religious leadership. “What he did violated the trust of many people, including me,” Donaghy wrote.

Andrew Stewart, a former Columbia Valley Community Health colleague, focused on Bucknum’s professional career, crediting him with mentoring staff and helping expand access to care.

The judgment orders Bucknum to forfeit his interest in funds in a Chase bank account, a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV, a 2021 Tesla Model 3, a Cobalt boat and trailer, and hundreds of gold, platinum and silver coins. It also imposes a forfeiture money judgment of $24,368,427.37, separate from the restitution order.

Judge Rice imposed no fine and ordered a $100 special assessment. Prosecutors had not sought a fine, saying money beyond Bucknum’s living expenses should go toward repaying CCN.

Under the judgment, Bucknum must pay at least $50 per quarter toward his monetary penalties while imprisoned. During supervised release, payments must be at least $500 per month or 10% of his net household income, whichever is greater, beginning 30 days after his release.

Prosecutors said that, without an unforeseen windfall, Bucknum would not be able to repay CCN in full, even with his efforts to return assets.