Former DSS Employee Accused Of $25K In Food Stamp Fraud WSOC TV
GASTONIA, N.C.,None — An employee of the Department of Social Services defrauded the agency out of $25,000 in food stamp benefits, according to Gaston County investigators.
Gastonia resident Trunona Givens, 35, faces 21 charges, including seven counts of food stamp fraud, seven counts of identity theft and seven counts of accessing computers.
Givens, who had been working for DSS for eight years, used a database of names and Social Security numbers to steal the identities of seven people, investigators said. She used some of the food stamp cards herself, gave others to family members and sold some of them at a discount, Gaston County Police Sgt. Stephen Dover told Channel 9's newspaper partner, the Gaston Gazette.
In one case, Dover said, Givens sold a food stamp card worth $668 to an individual for $400.
Police said Givens was sending out fraudulent food stamp benefits for about nine months before she was caught.
The alleged fraud came to the attention of the Department of Social Services in August. The actual person of one of the seven identities Givens had stolen went to the social services office in McDowell County to apply for food stamp benefits, Dover said.
Givens was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 11 and terminated on Aug. 23, said Keith Moon, director of Gaston County Department of Social Services.
"From our perspective, a public office is a public trust," Moon said.
Police began an investigation after being contacted by the Gaston County Department of Human Services. Givens was served with the charges on Monday and released from Gaston County Jail later that day after posting a $10,000 bond.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and more charges may be forthcoming.
WSOC
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