State Crime Reports

Attorney General Madigan: DHS Worker Arrested on Charges of Theft, Official Misconduct


Chicago —(ENEWSPF)—July 16, 2015. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that an Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) caseworker was arrested on charges of theft and official misconduct for allegedly misappropriating more than $300,000 in assistance for needy families.

Debra Moore, 63, of Baytown, Texas, and formerly of Chicago, was arrested Wednesday in Chicago. Moore pleaded not guilty today in Cook County Criminal Court on one count of Theft of Government Monies exceeding $100,000, a class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison; and one count of Official Misconduct, a class 3 felony punishable by two to five years in prison.

Madigan alleged that Moore, an IDHS caseworker at the Woodlawn Family Community Resource Center, was selling LINK cards and adding unauthorized benefits to accounts of family and friends in exchange for cash payments. Between 2004 and 2013, Moore allegedly added more than $300,000 of unauthorized benefits to ineligible recipients, oftentimes in exchange for cash payments.

“The defendant’s acts cheated not only the taxpayers who fund the programs she was entrusted to manage, but also those who rely on these vital state services,” Madigan said.

Bond was set for Moore at $50,000. Her next court appearance is Aug. 6.

Assistant Attorney General Kilby Macfadden and Associate Director James S. Dorger are handling the case for Madigan’s Public Integrity Bureau. The investigation was conducted in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Illinois State Police, the Office of the Executive Inspector General and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General.

Source: www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov

 


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