Prosecutors: Former DHS caseworker stole LINK card from client

A former Illinois Department of Human Services caseworker has been charged with stealing a LINK card from one of her clients in Rockford.

Gwendolyn Ross, 63, faces five years in prison for one count of theft of government monies and one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of official misconduct, all felonies, the state’s attorney general’s office announced Friday.

Ross was a caseworker at the Winnebago County Family Community Resource Centre in Rockford when she allegedly stole a LINK card that was being reissued to a DHS client while it was being processed, prosecutors said. Hours after she stole the card, she was seen using the card to make purchases on store security footage.

“The defendant knowingly cheated a client of vital resources and abused her authority and trust,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in the statement. “She will be held accountable.”

The Rockford resident turned herself into the Winnebago County sheriff’s office March 11, prosecutors said. Bond was set at $5,000 and she is next scheduled to appear in court April 4.