Former state worker guilty of misappropriating benefits for needy

A former state of Illinois employee pleaded guilty Tuesday to misappropriating more than $300,000 in benefits that were meant for needy families.

Debra Moore, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of continuing financial crimes enterprise and was sentenced to six years in prison, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.

Moore, a former caseworker with the Department of Human Services at the Woodlawn Family Community Resource Center, was arrested in July 2015 in Chicago after she was accused of selling LINK cards and adding unauthorized benefits to the accounts of family and friends, according to the statement. Between 2013 and 2014, Moore added more than $300,000 of unauthorized benefits to recipients who were not eligible to receive them, oftentimes in return for cash payments.

Moore, of Baytown, Texas and formerly of Chicago, was taken into custody after her sentencing, the statement said.