BEND, Ore. – Dawn Holland was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to embezzling $300,000 from her non-profit, DAWNS House, which provided housing for women recovering from addiction. As part of her plea agreement, Holland was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and $400,000 in restitution, with $100,000 due by Monday’s sentencing.
During Holland’s time at DAWNS House, which opened in 2015, she began using a bidding site called “DealDash.” Using the site, she could bid and win items to put in the homes of her non-profit. A statement Holland wrote for the sentencing said “DealDash” became an addiction.
“Unfortunately, DealDash became an obsession. The more I won, the more I played. At the time, I did not see it for what it was: an addiction,” the statement said.
Holland also wrote in the statement that she began bidding on things she didn’t need, and a lot of the items she was bidding on ended up in storage. Holland’s defense said a lack of oversight combined with the growth of DAWNS House led to Holland’s gambling addiction.
In the statement, Holland also wrote that DAWNS House received a lot more money during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they were able to expand services which made Holland depressed and burnt out.
Holland admitted in the statement that she began gambling money from DAWNS House at casinos and other websites. Then, she expressed her regret. Her therapist said Holland didn’t know how to find help at that time.
“In the recovery community, Dawn was a leader, someone people relied on. That role made it incredibly difficult for her to admit that she herself needed help,” Leslie Kellison, Holland’s therapist said.
The Vice President of the board for DAWNS House also made a statement at the sentencing and said all of Holland’s decisions were selfish and calculated.
“You conducted your crimes over many years, carefully constructed and hidden. Over hundreds and hundreds of transactions, each one an individual decision to steal from your constituents,” Craig Ladkin said.
Judge Wells B. Ashby said that while Holland’s crimes were harmful to those she served and took money away from the people she was meant to help, she still did a lot of good while her non-profit was running.
“People are really complicated and many things can be true at once that seem like they can’t be true,” Ashby said. “The court doesn’t overlook the wonderful things that you’ve done and the contributions that you’ve made, so those things can exist in the same space. The harm, the damage, and also the incredible work.”
DAWNS House no longer provides services, but the board will disburse the restitution money to other non-profits in the area.