For Immediate Release
August 5, 2009

Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg today announced that John Phillip Bender, 53, was sentenced by visiting District Judge Chuck Miller to serve 20 years in prison. Bender was sentenced today after having been convicted by a jury on June 22nd, 2009 of aggregated theft and aggregated misapplication of fiduciary property.

Bender, a tax attorney and CPA, was convicted for his role in embezzling money from a start-up medical business, which operated under the name of PET Imaging, Ltd. Between August 2000 and March 2003, Bender withdrew over $900,000 from the business accounts and transferred that money to his personal accounts. The victims included Austin investors, the defendant's business partners and an elderly Louisiana woman.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the White Collar Crime Unit of the Travis County District Attorney's office.

Aggregated theft and aggregated misapplication of fiduciary property are both first degree felonies and are punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison and a possible fine of $10,000.

###