A former county social services worker was indicted on a felony theft charge that accuses her of stealing between $20,000 and $100,000 from elderly people in her care, authorities said Friday.
Sylvia Ann Villareal, 44, was indicted by a grand jury and arrested Oct. 15 on the second-degree felony charge, authorities said.
Villareal was dismissed March 2 after nearly 15 years on the job, according to information from the county human resources department.
She worked for the county’s guardianship program, one of two such programs statewide, Community Services Director Curtiss Brown said.
Villareal was appointed by Probate Judge Gladys Burwell as a guardian for elderly wards and was responsible for managing their money, Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said in a statement.
"Judge Burwell, in her normal course of review, noticed some irregularities in the checks that were being written on the accounts of the wards and brought the matter to our attention," Sistrunk said.
Prosecutors began the investigation in February with the assistance of the County Auditor’s Office.
The indictment accuses Villarreal of stealing more than $20,000 but less than $100,000 between June 2007 and April 2009, Sistrunk said.
Sistrunk declined to reveal the specific dollar amount or how many wards were involved.
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Former Social Services Guardian Indicted on Theft Charges
So who's watching the store?
ReplyDeleteNot good enough!
What another bad guardian? It's getting to be all too routine.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness the media is reporting these stories and NASGA's following them!
oak tree justice since no one is watching where the money is going its high time to get rid of the problems permanently the feds need to audit the case files beginning where most of the crooks are exposed and work their way through county by county they will be able to help the economy put people to work building......prisons
ReplyDeleteNobody's watching, you're so right, Thelma. And that's got to change!
ReplyDelete