Donna Marie Key, 51, from Mt. Airy, is scheduled to appear in court November 24, on 31 Felony counts of Obtaining Property by False Pretenses.
Mrs. Key, allegedly, used her position as a Surry County Social Worker Supervisor, to steal an unknown amount of money. She was arrested June 16, 2009 and then release on a $25,000 bond.
According to a press release by, Surry County Sheriff, Graham Atkinson, the charges date back to 2004 when Key allegedly instructed a Social Worker under her supervision, to go with a client and withdraw $155 from that client’s bank account every month. Key told the Social Worker that the money went into a special account and helped that client pay for their share of subsidized housing.
Atkinson said, “When the Social Worker asked for a receipt, Key told her she was her supervisor and she did not have to give her one.”
Apparently the reaction by Key made the Social Worker suspicious and she began documenting each transaction, as well as any witnesses that were around when she gave Key the money.
September 2008, this same employee accompanied Donna Key to Wal-Mart where she was informed by Key that they were shopping for a family whose house had burnt down, said the sheriff’s office.
According to Detective David Hamlin, Key was beside the social worker when she signed the receipt at Wal-Mart, this shopping spree apparently cost the Surry County Department of Social Services $700.
“As a Supervisor, She had the county credit card and told her subordinate what to buy and directed her to sign the receipt,” Atkinson said. “She did, but she also noted on the receipt that Key was with her.” As reported by Mt. Airy News.com
This shopping trip and the monthly bank transactions led to Donna Key’s arrest and the charges she faces.
According to the Sheriff's Department, Donna Key was fired from her job.
Mrs. Key is to appear in court this Tuesday on all 31 charges, you can see them here.
Comments
DSS has become so corrupt in North Carolina that I honestly believe that reform at this point is impossible. It's going to have to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. There needs to be an overseer in all CPS offices that is NOT affiliated or funded by the state. That's not about to happen but these social workers are out of control. Thanks for raising awareness of just how corrupt cps, dss, dcf, dcyf, whatever alphabet soup name they want to go by are!
I completely agree with you, NCDSS is far too corrupt to change, as is the rest of the country for that matter. The only solution is to create a new department for protecting children, one that is open and accountable to the public...no more hiding unethical and illegal behavior behind Confidentiality laws.
Make the whole thing open, I can understand not releasing the child's name, but everything else should be out there for the public to see when ever they ask.
America's children are her greatest resource, the people entrusted with protecting them should be held to the highest standard around and it should be completely open to ensure that they are protecting this nations future to absolute best of their ability...
We all have to come together and let the legislature, the Governor, and our public officals know that we will no longer tolerate this corruption!!!
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