Woman lied about feeding kids in low-income families and pocketed $100,000, feds say
A Louisiana woman pretended to feed children from low-income families with nutritious foods for years — but never did, according to prosecutors.
Authorities said she pocketed over $100,000 from reimbursement checks from the government.
Now, she’s going to prison.
Neiyondra Rogers from Greensburg, a town about 50 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, was sentenced to federal prison for theft of government funds, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Rogers’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on May 2.
Starting in 2016, the 38-year-old joined the Child and Adult Care Food Program as a provider, court documents obtained by McClatchy News show. The federal program “provides reimbursements for meals and snacks served to eligible children and adults.”
As a provider, Rogers was required to feed children in her care with nutritious foods, prosecutors said. She could then submit reimbursement claims for her services to her sponsor, the Feliciana Day Care Home Agency, court documents show.
But prosecutors said Rogers never watched any children during her time as a provider nor did she provide any meals. Yet, the woman pocketed at least $31,224.17 after submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims, according to her plea agreement.
Rogers also helped others sign up to work for the program. These new providers also never cared for any children, but Rogers helped them submit false reimbursement claims, court documents show. Prosecutors said she sometimes cashed the checks submitted on behalf of others without their knowledge.
In total, prosecutors said the woman pocketed $91,635.34 worth of checks in the names of other providers.
“Neiyondra Rogers used funds designated for the USDA Summer Foods Service Program, which provides nutritional meals for children in low-income families, for her own personal expenses,” Douglas A. Williams, Jr., FBI New Orleans special agent, said in the release. “Defrauding taxpayers and taking food out of the mouths of children who can’t provide for themselves is reprehensible.”
Over the years, the woman participated in other fraudulent schemes to obtain government funds she was not eligible for, court documents show.
Between 2020 and 2021, Rogers submitted false claims to the pandemic and disaster unemployment assistance as well as to the Louisiana Workforce Commission — receiving at least $16,951 in unemployment benefits she wasn’t eligible for, according to court documents.
Investigators found the woman also posed as the owner of a catering business to apply for a loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program — when no such business ever existed. Through that program, prosecutors said Rogers received $20,832 in government funds.
Rogers was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay back $179,252.85 to the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program, $20,832 to the Small Business Administration and $16,961 to the Louisiana Workforce Commission — for a total of $217,045.85.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Woman lied about feeding kids in low-income families and pocketed $100,000, feds say."
