| id | cleanReleaseDate | troopName | title |
| 6769 | 2010-02-11 | Statewide | Two Alexandria Women Arrested on Theft of Federal Grant Money |
| LOUISIANA STATE POLICE COURTESY LOYALTY SERVICE Colonel Michael D. Edmonson, Superintendent HEADQUARTERS - NEWS RELEASE Two Alexandria Women Arrested on Theft of Federal Grant Money BATON ROUGE – Louisiana State Troopers working in the Criminal Investigations Division in Baton Rouge arrested two Alexandria women following a four-month investigation into fraudulent grant-funded operations. Janice Williams (W/F, age 47) and Darlene Sills (W/F, age 38) both turned themselves in to detectives today at the Louisiana State Police Headquarters in Baton Rouge. The investigation began after employees with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission reviewed several questionable invoices that had been submitted by Louisiana Youth Prevention Services and were alerted to questionable charges. Upon this review in November 2009, John A. Leblanc, Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission (LHSC), took steps to verify the concerns of the LHSC fiscal manager, then immediately requested the assistance of Louisiana State Police Detectives. State Police Detectives began the investigation with the assistance of LHSC and the Department of Public Safety Internal Audit Division. The investigation revealed Williams and Sills were operating Louisiana Youth Prevention Services, a non-profit organization in Alexandria funded by grants distributed by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that Louisiana Youth Prevention Services was also receiving funding from the Department of Health and Hospitals. Detectives and auditors determined that Louisiana Youth Prevention Services received in excess of $265,000 over the past three years through various grant programs as reimbursement for expenses that the organization never actually incurred. Detectives learned that Williams and Sills were also duplicating invoices and submitting them to multiple State agencies for reimbursement. “These funds were awarded to LYPS for programs designed to help teenagers avoid drinking and driving or making other destructive decisions,” Leblanc said. “It is unfortunate these individuals chose personal gain over the needs of Louisiana’s children.” “We have a great responsibility to the people of this state to ensure their tax dollars are being used wisely,” said Colonel Mike Edmonson, Superintendent of State Police. “Grant funding provides public safety agencies with valuable resources to reduce the tragic loss to Louisiana families from traffic deaths involving youth. Especially in such tough economic times, we must be accountable for every dollar spent and we will not tolerate corruption which jeopardizes the public’s trust and confidence.” State Police Detectives booked Williams and Sills into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of Theft and Filing False Public Records. Contact Information: Lt. M. Doug Cain, II Public Affairs Unit Louisiana State Police Office: (225) 925-6202 doug.cain@dps.la.gov www.LSP.org | |||
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