Atlanta, Georgia – A $5.3 million payment meant for a furniture vendor became the center of a federal money-laundering case after hackers redirected the funds from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta into an account controlled by a former accountant.
Within days, millions had been split, converted into cashier’s checks and sent elsewhere. Authorities later recovered about $4 million, but the scheme still left Ronald Deabler facing prison, supervision and a substantial restitution order.
According to the Department of Justice, Deabler, 66, of Atlanta, was sentenced July 22, 2026, to four years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $682,860 in restitution. A jury found him guilty on February 12 of conspiring to launder proceeds stolen from the nonprofit pediatric healthcare system.
The fraud began in early June 2023, when an unknown hacker gained access to the email system of a commercial furniture vendor used by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Posing as a vendor employee, the hacker contacted the hospital system and changed the bank account listed for automated clearing house payments.
The replacement account belonged to Deabler. On June 13, 2023, the hacker instructed the healthcare organization to wire $5.3 million into it.
Prosecutors said Deabler, a business owner and former Certified Public Accountant, agreed to distribute the stolen funds in return for a commission. After receiving the money, he opened another bank account and tried to transfer the full amount. When the bank blocked that effort, he moved more than $1 million instead.
Deabler then converted about $3.5 million into four cashier’s checks and mailed them to people and entities identified by the hacker.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the furniture vendor discovered the fraud within days. The healthcare system notified its bank, which traced the payment to Deabler’s account. Investigators followed the money into additional accounts and recovered approximately $4 million, including funds connected to the cashier’s checks.
“Deabler used his knowledge of the banking system to launder millions of dollars stolen from a not-for-profit pediatric healthcare system that is dedicated to the welfare of Georgia’s infants, children, and teens,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said.
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said the crime exploited an institution created to care for vulnerable children and support their families. She added that the sentence shows those who help conceal or profit from such schemes can face serious consequences.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracia M. King and Phyllis Clerk prosecuted it.
