A former Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce official has two months to find a caretaker for her two young grandchildren before she begins serving a prison sentence for bank fraud.

U.S. District Court Judge Harry S. “Sandy” Mattice on Monday ordered Angela Glover, 52, to serve 18 months in prison for stealing more than $83,000 despite pleas from her defense attorney for a reduced or alternative sentence.

“I have zero sympathy for Ms. Glover,” Judge Mattice said. “This is a bad situation, and the court is always concerned with the welfare of children. We put people in jail that are the sole caretakers of children all the time. It’s heartbreaking.”

Ms. Glover, former director of the Chamber’s small business incubator, told the judge that she has been unable to find someone to take care of the children, ages 2 and 4.

Judge Mattice gave her two months to make arrangements before she must begin serving her sentence.

Gerald White, Ms. Glover’s attorney, said he had hoped for a lesser sentence, but he believes the judge was fair.

“She was not looking for a handout from the court,” Mr. White said as he left the courthouse. “It was just that the situation with the grandchildren put us in a position where we had to ask.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Humble said Ms. Glover deserved prison time for the crime and cited her previous arrest and conviction in 1990 for embezzling money while employed at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

“She’s shown she can’t be trusted, and I worry who she will steal from again,” he said.

Judge Mattice agreed.

“Evidently you didn’t learn from your mistakes,” he said.

According to court records, between August 2001 to March 2006 Ms. Glover created false invoices for tenants of the Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Glover then used the false invoices to obtain checks written to the Chamber and would cash them when depositing them into the deposit-only account at First Tennessee Bank.

Judge Mattice said he was tempted to give Ms. Glover a stiffer penalty, but it would further delay her ability to make restitution.

“On one hand I want you to serve the maximum punishment, but on the other hand I want you out as soon as possible to begin paying restitution,” he said.

Judge Mattice ordered Ms. Glover to pay the Chamber more than $61,000 and ordered her to repay the bank more than $22,000.

Ms. Glover said she admits her fault and wants to put the ordeal behind her.

“I’m just glad that this part is over,” she said about the sentencing hearing.

Officials said Ms. Glover worked at the publicly owned Business Development Center since June 1994. She was dismissed in December 2006 for a series of “accounting discrepancies.”

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