Two former state employees were sentenced to federal prison Thursday for a food stamp scheme that defrauded the government of thousands of dollars and ripped off families in need.
Mr. Gene Tell, 34, of East Point, and Ms. Kristy Nicole Williams, 27, of Decatur, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud relating to a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture of nearly $600,000, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
“Many mothers and families rely on government funds to feed their families and children,” U.S. Attorney Mrs. Sally Quillian Yates said. “These former DFCS employees stole over a half-million dollars by pillaging funds meant for the neediest families.”
In 1998, Georgia converted from paper food stamps to electronic benefits transaction cards (EBT) to meet federal regulations.
Investigators said from November 2009 through March 2010, Mr. Tell and Ms. Williams used the new system to steal funds while working as financial independent case managers in the DeKalb County office of the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS).
They reopened inactive EBT accounts or created new cards for fraudulent accounts and received multiple payments, federal officials said.
The two pleaded guilty on July 1.
Mr. Tell was sentenced Thursday two years and nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $576,570, according to a news release.
Ms. Williams was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Ms. Williams was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $73,008, the news release stated.
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