SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Burbank, Illinois, woman, Tarnavis Lee, 42, of the 6000 block of 80th Street, was sentenced on March 2, 2022, to 36 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Lee engaged in schemes with co-defendants Demetra Jackson and Elizabeth McFarland to defraud the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) through its administration of the Child Care Assistance Program, which funded childcare services for low-income parents while they worked or participated in approved educational programs. Between approximately January 2009 and approximately April 2019, Lee, individually and together with Jackson and McFarland, submitted false and fraudulent claims to DHS for childcare services that were not provided or not provided to the extent claimed. In addition, Lee paid a total of approximately $158,000 in kickback payments to parents participating in the program in exchange for those parents allowing their personal information and that of their children to be used to submit false and fraudulent childcare claims to DHS. As a result of her schemes, Lee caused a loss to DHS of approximately $913,390.66. The government argued at sentencing that Lee’s greed, her conduct involving years-long and extensive schemes to defraud DHS and its childcare program, and the resulting substantial loss to DHS of more than $900,000 warranted...
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