For every child who fears going to sleep because of a monster under the bed, there’s likely a parent shining a flashlight to scare it away. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently shined a light on a former daycare owner who used the children she cared for to bilk a state agency out of nearly $1.4 million. (This monster was not hiding under the bed, but lurking right out in the open.)
A story published in the Courier-Journal states that the former owner and operator of the daycare center with two locations in the Louisville area carried out her scam against the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services, which provides child care benefits to low-income parents and guardians so they can work or attend school. (These government benefits are crucial to those approved beneficiaries who want to earn an honest living or better themselves while making sure their children are receiving proper care.)
Court documents state that the woman in this case falsified the number of children who attended her daycare centers, the days that they attended and also the employment status of their parents. Investigators also found that details within employee records such as high school diplomas, tuberculosis tests and CPR certification had been falsified. (These things are pretty important to know not only for the safety of the children, but because the daycare center could not receive payment from the state without these credentials.)
The fraudster pleaded guilty to 18 counts of wire fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. She was also ordered to pay $1,424,929 in restitution for falsifying documents with the intent of defrauding the government.
While this woman was not the kind of monster that children fear to be lurking under their beds, she did disguise herself as someone who cared for children. (What is truly scary is that she put the children under her care at risk with unqualified personnel and then stole money that did not belong to her.)Let’s hope her time in prison will give her a chance to reflect upon her selfish actions and to relearn what it means to be a responsible adult. (I’m guessing she may check under her prison bed once in a while, just to make sure nothing is lurking beneath.)
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