Gramercy Woman Gets Prison for $25M AmEx Scam, Blames Sleep Disorder Updated March 28, 2011 6:32pm

Travel management executive Victoria Wofford, 53, pleaded guilty to swindling American Express out of more than $35 million. (DNAinfo/Shayna Jacobs)

By Shayna Jacobs

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A travel management executive from Gramercy who pleaded guilty to a $25 million American Express scam was sentenced to two to six years in prison Monday.

Victoria Wofford, 54, said she was sorry for what she had done but that it could have been a result of her "undiagnosed sleep apnia," which she suffered from for "many, many years."

"[It was a] monumental lapse of judgment on my part," Wofford said at her sentencing Monday. "There's really no excuse for it thinking back."

She added that it could have been her sleeping disorder that led her astray. She had said in the past that she stole from American Express to try to make her travel business successful.

Wofford admitted to using two defunct American Express business travel accounts to make fraudulent travel charges to the tune of $17 million between 2006 and 2010.

"I'm not even sure what I was thinking at the time, um, it may have had something to do the undiagnosed sleep apnia," she said Monday.

Wofford appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court for her sentencing in an oversized purple dress shirt, her hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

Her lawyer, Thomas Puccio, did not elaborate on how the sleeping condition could have influenced her behavior.

Wofford, who lived at 131 Fifth Ave., pleaded guilty to first-degree grand larceny in May 2010.

Prosecutors said she used $475,000 for an apartment in her husband's name in Florida. She also invested $2.4 million in a restaurant, they said.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus said "what happened here was out of character," but that Wofford "had to know that this was important," before handing down her prison sentence.

"What you accepted responsibility for is something that is extremely serious involving millions and taking place over many, many years," the judge added.

American Express initially estimated their losses at $35 million but that number was reduced to $25 million, including processing fees and other such charges as well as $17 million Wofford admitted to stealing outright.

She agreed to pay back the $25 million to the company and promised to do everything possible to "ensure the restitution is made."

"There just aren't enough words to express how sorry I am," she added.

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