BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Managing Editor
A former San Mateo County Woman of the Year, who stole $700,000 from the nonprofit where she worked, was sentenced yesterday to six months in jail, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Clarise Ann Blanchard, 77, of Foster City, will only have to serve three months of the sentence under state law, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. Blanchard must surrender by Oct. 17.
In addition to the jail time, Blanchard must do 250 hours of community service over the next two years and make restitution to StarVista, the now-defunct nonprofit that Blanchard stole from between 2009 until her retirement in 2022. Wagstaffe said he was not sure how StarVista will be paid back, but perhaps that will be sorted out at the Nov. 20 restitution hearing. The probation department is recommending Blanchard pay back $820,372.90, Wagstaffe said.
StarVista, which was one of the county’s leading mental health contractors, closed last August.
As for the funds Blanchard stole, she used the money to go on lavish trips, according to the DA.
If Blanchard had faced a jury trial and been found guilty, she could have faced up to 10 years in prison.
But after she struck a plea deal on Oct. 22, she faced a maximum of three years and four months in prison. Judge Kevin Dunleavy said during a hearing on July 23 that Blanchard would not get prison time.
Missing checks
Blanchard, who was named the 2008 San Mateo County Woman of the Year, retired from the nonprofit in May 2022.
The theft was discovered after she retired. The nonprofit asked Blanchard where a $50,000 donation was and conducted an audit, which found that more money was missing.
It was discovered that Blanchard had set up a bank account for herself and deposited donations meant for StarVista, adding about $700,000 in her account between 2009 and 2022, the DA said.
Investigators also found thank you notes to the contributors of the money that was put into Blanchard’s account with a forged signature from StarVista’s executive director. Wagstaffe said Blanchard had fiscal authority as her job as clinical director, something Star Vista has denied.
Three months for a theft that large is absurd. And even more absurd that she got away with it for thirteen years. That audit should’ve been done a long time ago. And how is she going to pay back over $800K. She belongs in prison for a long time.