A federal grand jury has indicted a former employee accused of embezzling nearly half a million dollars from a publicly funded hospital in Atlanta.

U.S. Attorney's officials say 53-year-old Donald Thomas, former assistant controller at Grady Memorial Hospital, was indicted Wednesday on charges of embezzlement, wire fraud and bank fraud.

Thomas is accused of accessing the hospital's payroll system beginning in 2008 to fabricate records for vacation and severance payment. Prosecutors say about $450,000 in back pay was issued to workers who had been terminated from the hospital.

Authorities say the hospital's payroll records were then altered so that money was deposited into accounts Thomas controlled. Officials say paper checks that were written in the names of terminated workers were forged before being deposited into the fraudulent accounts.

It's unclear if Thomas has an attorney.

Tags: Grady Memorial Hospital, indictment, embezzlement