Former CEO Pleads Guilty to $24,000,000 Embezzlement Scheme

Patrick Alan Bucknum, age 55, formerly of Wenatchee, Washington, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Washington to one count of wire fraud. As set out in court documents, Bucknum was the Chief Executive Office of Community Clinic Network (CCN), a company located in Wenatchee, Washington. CCN managed health care payment contracts for a conglomerate of health care clinics across Washington. Beginning in April 2017, Bucknum devised a scheme to obtain funds from CCN’s business bank accounts, which he attempted to invest in stocks, options, and exchange-traded funds. Bucknum initially intended to keep profits from the investments for himself and return the embezzled funds to CCN. Bucknum was influenced by social media showing aggressive trading strategies. However, due to Bucknum’s poor trades, he lost the majority of the funds invested. As a result, Bucknum embezzled additional funds in an attempt to recover his losses. Between 2017 and 2023, Bucknum embezzled approximately $30,000,000 from CCN to invest, returning approximately $7,000,000 to CCN over that same time frame. Bucknum also embezzled funds from CCN for personal purchases, including $100,000 to purchase a pickup truck, $77,000 to purchase a Tesla, and $33,000 to purchase a boat. In August 2024, Bucknum embezzled $1,199,000 to purchase precious metal coins. In total, Bucknum caused a loss to CCN of approximately $24,368,427.37. As part of his plea agreement, Bucknum has agreed to forfeit to the United States the pickup truck, Tesla, boat, and precious metal coins, including coins in gold, silver, and platinum all obtained with embezzled funds.