On Thursday, April 5, 2018, it was announced that a woman from Blythewood, South Carolina had pleaded guilty to Theft of Government Funds. Judge Marry Geiger Lewis accepted 50-year-old Teresa Yarborough-Walker’s guilty plea. The defendant is now scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. Evidence showed that Walker worked as a human resources supervisor for Genesis Health Care Inc. The company is a non-profit, which offers medical services to poor, rural communities.
It was funded by the Health Resources Service Administration, which is an agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Many of the patients at Genesis receive Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Walker embezzled funds from Genesis by creating fictitious employees and paying them a salary. Walker ultimately diverted those salaries to herself.
She also modified the payroll software to prevent management from receiving reports that would have revealed the scheme. In total, the defendant stole roughly $416,257. At the time of sentencing, the defendant will face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Further details have been made available here.
