Former CVCH Executive Pleads Guilty to $24 Million Fraud

A former Columbia Valley Community Health executive has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $24 million from a network that managed Medicaid-funded clinics, admitting he used the money for risky stock trades and luxury purchases.

READ MORE: Former CVCH Executive Accused of Fraud

Former CEO Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud 

55-year-old Patrick Alan Bucknum pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Spokane to one count of wire fraud. Bucknum served as CEO of Columbia Valley Community Health from 2010 to 2016 before becoming CEO of Community Clinic Network (CCN), which is owned by four Medicaid-funded clinics, including CVCH.

The organization manages contracts and payments for 11 clinics throughout the region.

Federal prosecutors said Bucknum controlled CCN's finances and had the authority to write checks and initiate wire transfers from the organization's accounts.

Prosecutors Detailed Years-Long Embezzlement Scheme

According to court documents, Bucknum began diverting money from CCN's main checking account into his personal investment account in April 2017. Between 2017 and 2023, prosecutors said he embezzled nearly $30.4 million from CCN.

Although he transferred nearly $7.4 million back into the organization's accounts, the scheme resulted in losses totaling about $24.3 million.

Bucknum admitted he used the money to fund speculative stock trades despite having no formal investment training and relying on a high-risk, bearish trading strategy.

Court records say Bucknum met with an attorney in 2019 after concluding his trading losses were insurmountable but chose not to report the theft. In March 2023, he transferred another $5 million from CCN into his investment account in a final attempt to recover the money, but those trades also failed.

Luxury Purchases Included Vehicles, Boat and Gold Coins

Prosecutors said Bucknum also used CCN funds to purchase luxury items, including an electric vehicle worth nearly $78,000, a $33,000 boat and an electric pickup truck costing nearly $104,000.

In August 2024, prosecutors said he used nearly $1.2 million in CCN funds to purchase gold coins, later selling them for nearly $1.3 million. He then used those proceeds to purchase 400 American Gold Eagle coins, 70 platinum coins and 66 American Silver Eagle coins. According to court documents, Bucknum admitted in an Oct. 7, 2024 resignation letter that he had embezzled and lost approximately $20 million of CCN's money.

Sentencing Scheduled for September

Bucknum remains free pending sentencing after surrendering his passport and forfeiting many of his assets. Under the plea agreement, Bucknum must repay the remaining $24.3 million in stolen funds.

He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in September, although prosecutors said they may recommend a lesser sentence.

Bucknum is a former president of the Wenatchee Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.