SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Four individuals have pleaded guilty over the past three months to mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges that were related to schemes involving the submissions of fraudulent claims for childcare services to the Illinois Department of Human Services that resulted in a loss of approximately $1,300,000 to the State of Illinois and the United States. The individuals are: Tarnavis Lee, 42, of the 6200 block of W. 80th Street in Burbank, Illinois; Demetra Jackson, 42, of the 2700 block of W. 64th Street in Chicago, Illinois; LaShanda Hudson, 40, of the 6700 block of S. Maplewood in Chicago; and Elizabeth McFarland, 47, of the 600 block of Rothwood Avenue in Madison, Tennessee.
According to the three indictments charging the defendants, as well as their plea agreements, the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) administered the Child Care Assistance Program, which was partially funded by the federal government. The program paid for childcare services for low-income parents while they worked or participated in approved educational programs. Each of the individuals charged engaged in schemes to defraud DHS by submitting claims for childcare services that were not provided or not provided to the extent claimed. As part of their schemes, Lee and Hudson also paid a total of more than $160,000 in kickback payments to parents participating in the program in exchange for the parents allowing their personal information and that of their children to...
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