A former CEO of a Wenatchee health care management company was sentenced to four years in federal prison for an embezzlement scheme that caused more than $24 mi
A former CEO of a Wenatchee health care management company was sentenced to four years in federal prison for an embezzlement scheme that caused more than $24 million in losses.
Patrick Alan Bucknum, 55, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice after pleading guilty to wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $24,368,427.37 in restitution.
Bucknum was the CEO of Community Clinic Network, or CCN, a Wenatchee company that managed health care payment contracts for a group of clinics across Washington.
According to court documents, Bucknum began taking money from CCN’s business bank accounts in April 2017 and investing it in stocks, options and exchange-traded funds. Prosecutors said he initially planned to keep any profits and return the money he had taken from the company.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Bucknum was influenced by social media posts promoting aggressive trading strategies. After losing most of the money through unsuccessful trades, he embezzled additional funds in an effort to recover his losses.
Between 2017 and 2023, Bucknum took about $30 million from CCN for investments and returned roughly $7 million during that period. Prosecutors said he used his position as CEO and his accounting background to conceal the scheme from CCN board members for years.
Bucknum also used company money for personal purchases, including $100,000 for a pickup truck, $77,000 for a Tesla and $33,000 for a boat. In August 2024, prosecutors said he took nearly $1.2 million to buy precious metal coins.
As part of his sentence, Bucknum was ordered to forfeit the pickup truck, Tesla, boat, coins, and all funds in his Chase Bank account.
