Lary Holland: Official Blog, Links, and Resources (Entries tagged as embezzlement)

Former Child Support Services Employee Arrested! Selling Confidential Records.

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:09:48 -0400

I have to commend WZTV in Nashville Tennessee for bringing this story forward. Former Child Support Services Employee Arrested (Source: Former child support services employee arrested; www.wztv.com; April 02, 2009) That's right, another child support services employee arrested for allegedly stealing AND selling confidential child support records.

I guess the going rate for stolen names, social security numbers, and what ever else private information is located in these child support enforcement program computer systems are just under a $1.50 per name. But how much damage has really been done, especially since we are dealing with a largely unaccountable group of state, county, and private agencies that are being granted wide-spread access to extremely personal information with very little safeguards implemented?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Nashville man is facing charges that he tried to sell 1,600 stolen names, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents arrested 27-year-old Steven K. Gilmore on Wednesday after he sold the information to an undercover TBI agent for $2,800.

This wasn't the first time this individual has allegedly sold confidential information from the Child Support Enforcement databases, and certainly not the first story of corruption on the State Child Support Enforcement programs.

Gilmore had access to the information through his former employer, a private company that contracts with the state Department of Human Services to provide child support services.

A federal criminal complaint against Gilmore says the U.S. Secret Service and TBI are investigating Gilmore and that he has sold such information before.

Over the past several years we have noticed a climate ripe for embezzlement, identity theft, invasion of privacy, and more. Just this year the Federal government removed some protections to the taxpayer to stop the continuous growth of these agencies. The reversal of the tax payer protection policy that was originally implemented under the Budget Deficity Reduction Act of 2005, paves the way for more disastrous consquences for taxpayers.

Just in June 2008, Delaware Child Support Program Employees were caught stealing from taxpayers and the children. Just over a year ago, we demonstrated how Theft was Running Rampid in State Child Support Programs. The widespread lack of accountability in these programs continues, without sufficiently limiting access to private data and ensuring digital fingerprints are placed on all data in the various systems nationwide, there will continue to be fraud on the taxpayers and the participants of Child Support Enforcement programs.

The Child Support Enforcement program continues to be plagued over the past several years of documented fraud, identity theft, embezzlement, bribery schemes, and more. Just take a look at the snapshot below, and know that this is hardly a comprehensive look at the problems that exist throughout the nation with this "free for all welfare program."

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Fraud Ring ~ "Fort Bend County jury has found 42-year-old Debra Hodge guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity for her part in bilking over $40,000 in fraudulent child support from the Texas Attorney General's Office."

Child Support Worker Arrested in Bribery Scheme ~ "ORLANDO, Fla. -- A former employee of the Department of Revenue's Child Support Enforcement program was arrested Thursday on bribery charges." (Local6.Com "Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme" March 8, 2007)

Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Enforcement Money ~ "A Natomas woman stands accused of bilking the state Department of Child Support Services of more than $250,000, turning her procurement job into a means of buying a Lexus, hot tub and big-screen television, among other things."

The Weekly Standard Indicts CSE Title IV-D Welfare Program ~ "There is mounting evidence that the system now encourages marital breakup and exacerbates fatherlessness by creating a winner-take-all game, where the losing parent--commonly a father wanting to save the marriage--is unfairly penalized by the loss of his children and by a federally enforced child support obligation."

Federal Child Support Enforcement Program Makes Little "Cents" to the Taxpayer ~ "So the man, named Michael Eugene Lamb, is going into prison at the age of 49, sitting there on a federal conviction, and coming out sometime when he is almost 51 years old. The federal system will charge the taxpayers for his 1.5 year confinement at a cost between $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 depending on the facility and not including any health issues of the confined."

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption ~ "Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers, by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary."

Two Main Media Outlets Reprot More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees ~ "Two separate reports have come out about a Maine Child Support Enforcement Worker (Title IV-D Employee) that has been stealing money orders from children the agency touts to protect. This most recent employee, who is now on administrative leave pending investigation, was reported as intercepting money orders and depositing them in her personal bank account."

Mounting Accountability Problems With Child Support Programs: Data Stolen ~ "Yuba County scrambled this week to contact 70,000 people whose names and personal information were on a laptop computer stolen from the new Child Support Services office in Linda. County officials said the stolen laptop contained Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and other private information on 70,000 people+."

Identity Theft: Opt Out of Family Court Services Before it Happens to YOU! ~ "...customers in at least three states have already experienced serious breaches in their personal information, including social security numbers being compromised and potentially handed over to hackers that might want to steal identities in the last few months alone."

Implementing more data safeguards, limiting the size and scope of the the Federal and State Child Support Enforcement programs, tightening controls on confidential records, and more needs to be done to protect the taxpayer. We need to reign in the program and make sure it serves the purpose of real needy families rather than as a data harvesting tool for the federal and state governments on nearly every divorcing couple in the United States.

Lary Holland is Host and Producer of the popular online talk show, "Get Your Justice Live" with current content from Legislators, Decision-Makers, Professionals, and parents on government accountability, necessary judicial reforms, and more. Get Your Justice Live broadcasts live every Wednesday and Sunday Night at 8PM EST. Visit the website for more information.

Delaware Child Support Program: Employees Stealing From Taxpayers and Children?

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:24:21 -0400

In January 2008 we brought you the story, Delaware (State) Residents Calling for Child Support Reforms, and in March 2008 we brought you the story Theft Running Rampid in State Child Support Programs.
What we are bringing you today is nothing new, but needs to be said
while the Child Support Enforcement Industry tries to cover up the
widespread lack of accountability in their programs. The Child Support
Enforcement Program nationwide is plagued with theft, embezzlement, and
fraud and Congress doesn't seem to be doing anything about it yet. In Delaware County, not the State of Delaware, we have a current story that was published in the May 31, 2008 Edition of New York's "The Daily Star." Original Link.

A Trout Creek woman who allegedly stole $52,623 from the Delaware
County Department of Social Services Child Support Unit was fired from
her position in January, DSS Commissioner William Moon said Friday.

The story doesn't end with this Trout Creek woman stealing the money. Who is going to pay back the children and the taxpayers? Inadequate supervision is what we have been saying all the long. Again, what is Congress doing to tie up the State's lack of professionalism in operating programs where they claim to be helping needy families, while stealing the money out from underneath them. This particular investigation took over 4 years to detect the outright theft.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released an audit Friday
indicating that the Delaware County Child Support Collection Unit lost
$52,623 from 2003 to 2007.

The audit, requested by Northrup, also found that there was
inadequate supervision of personnel responsible for collecting and
depositing child support funds.

Taxpayers are currently footing the bill, largely for their
government to collect and process child support payments for middle and
upper class families. Actual needy families appear to be the minority
of collections through the Federal Title IV-D program.

Overview of Title IV-D Services: Click Here

How Federal Funding Drives Judicial Discretion... Click Here

Requesting Change: It's a Matter of Administration and Legislation: Click Here

The Weekly Standard Indicts CSE Title IV-D Welfare Program: Click Here

Will Democrats Actually Reduce Our Deficit? Click Here

Following the Title IV-D Money Machine. Click Here.

Again, we need Congress to install more accountability into the Title IV-D program or add eligibility requirements to shrink down the size of these programs so that State Directors can better control their own employees. Don't be fooled by the best interest joke, that involves high paid government officials lining their own pockets at the expense of family and parent/child relationships.

It is time to reign in free for all welfare programs like the Title IV-D program so that taxpayers are not footing the bill for state mandated collection activities for the rich feuding family members.

Child Support Programs Lack Accountability Nationwide (Title IV-D Fails Needy)

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:53:48 -0400

You might remember the article that I wrote titled "When Stealing From Children Isn't Enough" and if you don't you should probably take the time to read it. Because now we are back to the same issue again, and as you can tell its not the first and certainly won't be the last. Child support programs lack accountability nationwide.

Another occurrence of government officials stealing both from the taxpayers nationwide and children was documented by the LufkinDailyNews.Com website on April 3, 2008. In fact District Clerk Donna Phillips has all but been convicted of "allegedly" taking $15,758.16 from child support accounts.

NACOGDOCHES — Nacogdoches
District Clerk Donna Phillips has been arrested and charged with theft
by a public servant, a third-degree felony. She was arraigned Thursday
morning by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Dorothy Tigner-Thompson, who
set her bond at $8,500. She was immediately released after bonding out
of jail.

She also resigned Thursday, sending a letter to County Judge Joe English, in which she apologized for her "wrongdoings."

According to the arrest affidavit filed in Thompson's court,
Phillips is accused of taking $15,758.16 during 2007 from the child
support account she oversees.

Not too mention, on April 1, 2008 it wasn't a laughing matter for Cynthia Woodard who had to plead guilty to multiple charges resulting from her and her fiance' stealing $10,660.00 or more dollars from taxpayers and children. The Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon reports:

A former Oregon Department of Justice
employee accused of stealing unclaimed child-support payments from the
state pleaded guilty to all charges in Marion County court Monday.
Keizer
resident Cynthia Diane Woodard, 50, pleaded guilty to two counts of
first-degree theft, two counts of identity theft and one count of
misdemeanor official misconduct.
Woodard received a 120-day jail sentence and five years of probation from Circuit Judge Jamese Rhoades.
Between
April and June of last year, Woodard and her then-fiancé, Glenn Edward
Huiett, stole about $10,660 in child-support payments intended for two
recipients, a Eugene woman and a Salem woman, Marion County Deputy
District Attorney Don Abar said.

Phillips isn't the first of the clerks to be caught or suspected of embezzling money from children and taxpayers. In fact, just last year I reported in Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption

Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been
indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly
stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers,
by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through
April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which
no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already
been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary.

Another critical story which cost taxpayers and children that was reported on this blog is Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Enforcement Money:

That's right folks. A California Department of Child Support Services
employee bilked the State Department of Child Support Services of more
than $250,000.00!!! This is just another example of how the current
Title IV-D program is abused by the various States that are voluntarily
participating in the program. The state police have indicated that
there are more than $300,000.00 worth of goods that the employee has in
her possession that were purchased with at least one government credit
card.

We also have bribery and extortion schemes going on which is lining greedy child support enforcement workers' pockets as well, demonstrating further that the child support program just continues to grow and lacks any real accountability as can be seen in the article Child Support Worker Arrested in Bribery Scheme:

According to Local6.Com another Child Support Worker was arrested, this
time in Florida for bribing individuals that were involved with child
support cases.

In the many States, Child Support Workers are funded directly through Title IV
Part D of the Social Security Act if the State programs voluntarily
comply with federal mandates on how to operate. In the beginning a
program to help needy families, it has now turned into a free for all
welfare spending program where the States focus on revenue generation
instead of helping actual needy families. For every dollar spent by the local agency, two more dollars come into the state as a result of the expenditure. This leads to very poor management of the progam and a significant forced over-participation which is costing taxpayers nationwide.

It's time to reign in free for all welfare spending where over 45% of
the participants in the Title IV-D welfare program are middle to
upper-class families that should be paying for their own disputes not
feuding on tax payer money. Shrink back the program for its intended
beneficiaries and shave off nearly 30,000 government employees
nationwide to help control taxpayer waste, fraud, and government
sponsored criminal activity.

For more information about the Title IV-D Program and It's Lack of Accountability:

Overview of Title IV-D Services: Click Here
How Federal Funding Drives Judicial Discretion... Click Here
Requesting Change: It's a Matter of Administration and Legislation: Click Here
The Weekly Standard Indicts CSE Title IV-D Welfare Program: Click Here
Will Democrats Actually Reduce Our Deficit? Click Here
Following the Title IV-D Money Machine. Click Here.

Theft Running Rampid in State Child Support Programs

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:00:41 -0500

I have been following a fair number of reports where individuals are being caught embezzling from the tax payers, committing fraudulent transfers, and identity theft through the various State Child Support Programs. The programs have grown so quickly that there is insufficient oversight to ensure that the programs help those who have need. Instead the programs are bloated with over-participation and lack of oversight.

The Keizertimes is a publication for the Keizer community, and focuses on Keizer-specific news and events. Recently it reported Former DOJ employee charged with ID theft. It wasn't just identity theft though, it was actual theft from the tax payers and children as well. There has been a tremendous amount of liability associated with identity theft from the State operated and Federally funded child support enforcement programs.

Original Story Published 2-29-08: http://www.keizertimes.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=9130

A theft investigation spanning nearly six months culminated in the arrest of two Keizer residents on Friday, Feb. 22.

The lack of oversight involved in the State Child Support Programs are definitely causing more harm than good when it comes to the potential for identity theft, fraud, and embezzlement.

The state sends out child support payments on a ReliaCard debit system. The investigation began when a woman receiving child support payments said more than $7,000 in child support payments were missing from her account. The victim's card had been mailed to a vacant address in Keizer and had been used to withdraw funds from Salem and Keizer-area automated teller machines.

Don't forget the article Identity Theft: Opt Out Of Family Court Services!

More fraud and embezzlement below!

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Fraud Ring

If it isn't the actual child support enforcement officers stealing from the taxpayers, then its more greedy participants aiming to defraud taxpayers, parents, and children of green. The Title IV-D program is
plagued with over participation, fraud, and misrepresentation to the public that money is destined for children, but in reality the money goes into everyone else's pockets but the children's. The Katy Times, serving Katy, Tx and the surrounding suburban communities released the story on June 1, 2007 about a Fort Bend, Indiana Woman being found guilty in another Child Support Fraud Scheme. (Katy Times,
"Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Fraud Ring," June 1, 2007)

Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/329-Child-Support-Worker-Arrested-in-Bribery-Scheme.html
Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Money http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/311-Title-IV-D-Employee-Embezzles-Quarter-of-Million-in-Child-Support-Enforcement-Money.html

SeattlePI.Com: State Worker Accused of Taking Child Support Money

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:38:54 -0500

State worker accused of taking child support money

The SeattlePI.Com website on November 16, 2007 reported yet another state worker taking child support money from children and families.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A state employee in Olympia who handled child support payments has been accused of taking $24,000 and spending the money at casinos.

As more audits begin to be conducted on the many unaccountable child support agencies across the nation, there is a high probability that more and more fraud will likely be exposed just like the above story. The child support programs across the nation are currently charged with handling billions of dollars on behalf of parents and families with very little accountable oversight.

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption

Two Maine Media Outlets Report More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/367-Two-Maine-Media-Outlets-Report-More-Thieving-Title-IV-DCSE-Employees.html

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Ring: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/366-Fort-Bend-Woman-Guilty-in-Child-Support-Fraud-Ring.html

Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/329-Child-Support-Worker-Arrested-in-Bribery-Scheme.html

Title IV-D Employee Embezzles Quarter of Million in Child Support Money: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/311-Title-IV-D-Employee-Embezzles-Quarter-of-Million-in-Child-Support-Enforcement-Money.html

It's definitely time to cut down this oversized government child support collection service bureaucracy and restore some safety controls to prevent it from stealing from parents, children, and the nation's taxpayers. It's time to shrink this agency back to only providing services to actual needy families, instead of forcing collections from middle and upper-income families at taxpayer expense.

Child Support Clerk Charged With Embezzlement: More Government Corruption

laryholland@sbcglobal.net (Lary Holland) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:50:06 -0400

The place is Meridian, Mississippi and the alleged crime is EMBEZZLEMENT. I have been covering stories surrounding the leeches that have been involved in the free for all welfare program, created under the guise of "child support enforcement," known as the Title IV-D Program. The program is already stealing from taxpayers by forcing the inclusion of the middle-class and upper-class families in to the program but now there is definitely an upward trend associated with theft from the program itself by the County cooperative contract employees demonstrating a need for citizen oversight. We cannot entrust these employees to manage money, let alone make recommendations to what is best for our children.

Another County employee, this one in Lauderdale County, has been indicted by a grand jury on felony embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing more than $216,000.00 of program money, paid for by taxpayers, by writing unauthorized checks to herself from January 2002 through April of 2007. This employee was released on a $10,000.00 bond, which no doubt was probably a drop in the bucket considering she has already been sitting on the $216,000.00 plus her lush salary.

Just last month we shared with you several other thefts, forgeries, and frauds that are overshadowing the agency that focuses on services to the greedy instead of services to the needy. Agencies across the nation are focusing collection efforts on middle and upper-class families and drowning out the voice of the needy, while apparently stealing some for themselves too. (http://www.nationwideblueprint.com)

Two Maine Media Outlets Report More Thieving Title IV-D/CSE Employees: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/367-Two-Maine-Media-Outlets-Report-More-Thieving-Title-IV-DCSE-Employees.html

Fort Bend Woman Guilty in Child Support Ring: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/366-Fort-Bend-Woman-Guilty-in-Child-Support-Fraud-Ring.html

Child Support Worker Arrested In Bribery Scheme: http://www.laryholland.com/serendipity/archives/329-Child-Support-Worker-Arrested-in-Bribery-Scheme.html