(The Center Square) – A former health care executive who embezzled more than $30 million from a Washington health care organization was sentenced to four years in federal prison, with a judge ordering him to repay more than $24.3 million.
Patrick Alan Bucknum, 55, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice after pleading guilty to wire fraud. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $24,368,427.37 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Bucknum was the former CEO of Community Clinic Network, a Wenatchee-based organization that managed health care payment contracts for a network of clinics across Washington.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano told The Center Square the case affected rural communities, including clinics in the Tri-Cities and East Wenatchee, where many patients are farmworkers and others employed in agriculture.
“It’s not surprising that our side of the state was impacted,” Serrano told The Center Square in a video interview on Monday afternoon.
Serrano said the defendant disclosed the misconduct through his attorney, prompting prosecutors and investigators to examine the financial records and work toward a resolution.
“We ultimately looked at the records, saw the tens of millions of dollars missing,” Serrano said. “And ultimately from that point forward, our team … worked with his counsel to develop a resolution.”
According to court documents, Bucknum began embezzling money from Community Clinic Network in April 2017. He initially intended to invest the funds in stocks, options and exchange-traded funds, keep any profits and return the money to the organization.
Instead, he lost most of the money through poor trades and took additional funds in an attempt to recover those losses, prosecutors said.
Between 2017 and 2023, Bucknum embezzled approximately $30 million from CCN and returned about $7 million, leaving a loss of approximately $24.37 million.
“He took around 31 million in the scheme, 7 million was returned,” according to Prosecutor Jeremy Kelley, who spoke with The Center Square.
“In 2010, he helped form CCN, and in 2017 he became CEO for CCN and that’s when it all began,” Kelley added.
Bucknum also used the money for personal purchases, including a $100,000 pickup truck, a $77,000 Tesla and a $33,000 boat. In August 2024, he embezzled $1.199 million to purchase precious metal coins.
As part of the sentence, the judge ordered Bucknum to forfeit the vehicles, boat, coins and all funds remaining in his Chase Bank account.
Kelley said the money was intended to help clinics expand services, purchase equipment such as MRI machines and maintain financial reserves.
The losses have left the clinics less stable, Kelley said.
“These clinics now don’t have the ability to weather financial harms like a downturn in the economy,” according to Kelley.
The $24.37 million restitution order represents the loss to CCN, but prosecutors acknowledged that recovering the full amount could be difficult.
Kelley said the government has recovered assets and funds from a bank account and will continue pursuing money through legally available means, including wage garnishments, retirement funds and tax refunds.
He said Bucknum will remain obligated to repay the debt for the rest of his life, but the amount taken is so large that full repayment is unlikely.
Serrano said the government would pursue assets wherever they are found.
“We do everything we can to claw back,” Serrano said, describing the government’s efforts to identify assets such as homes, vehicles, boats and other property.
Serrano said investigators have a team dedicated to locating assets and recovering money owed to the government.
Serrano said Bucknum was immediately remanded to custody following sentencing, meaning he was taken back into custody to begin serving his sentence.
Serrano said immediate remand is less common in white-collar fraud cases than in cases involving violent crimes or drug trafficking.
“Obviously the judge thought this guy was at risk, whether it’s flight or at risk of, you know, getting a bank account somewhere,” Serrano said.
He also pointed to restrictions Bucknum will face after his release, including a three-year prohibition on having checking accounts or ATM cards.
Serrano said federal probation officials will monitor compliance with those conditions.
“This isn’t just four years in prison, 48 months,” Serrano said. “This is four years in prison with three years of heavy, heavy supervisory release conditions.”
The Center Square reached out to Bucknum’s attorney, Clyde Snow of Salt Lake City, Utah, for comment but did not receive a response before publication.