By Ruth Manuel-Logan on Nov 13th 2010 5:54PM
Trunona Damal Givens has worked in the Gaston County Department of Social Services for the past eight years. And for the last nine months, the Gastonia, Georgia resident has allegedly managed a database of names and social security numbers to swipe the identities of seven people.
The 35-year-old woman used the ID's to cheat Uncle Sam out of $25,000 in food stamp benefits.
Investigators claim that Givens not only utilized some of the food stamp cards for herself, she also doled them out to family members. A few were even sold at a cut rate; police discovered that one card valued at $668 was purchased by an individual for the sale price of $400.
The Gaston County agency that employed Givens handles roughly 18,000 food stamp benefits cases per month.
Givens was placed under surveillance last August. The actual person of one of the seven identities Givens had allegedly stolen went to a social services office in another county to apply for food stamp benefits and this move was a tip-off. The agency's powers-that-be contacted local police investigators after they examined Givens' paper trail of cases. The plot began to come apart at the seams quickly and Givens' scheme went kaput.
According to Gaston County Police Sgt. Stephen Dover, Givens, who never had any disciplinary actions against her on the job, was not a solo act and he suspects, she had helpers, he told the Gaston Gazette. He did not delve further into his suspicions further because the case is still ongoing. Thus far, there have been no other arrests.
Givens, worked as a Walmart cashier twelve years ago and was charged with embezzlement, then convicted of a misdemeanor larceny. Although she had a police record and conviction, it did not keep her from landing a job at the social services agency.
After posting a $10,000 bond and being released from Gaston County Jail on Monday, Givens faces a total of 21 charges, including seven counts of food stamp fraud, seven counts of identity theft and seven counts of accessing computers.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=868400&pid=868399&uts=1289326915
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
Your Hottest News Stories
04-Nov-10 -
Aimee Michael caused a massive car accident in Atlanta, a chain reaction that caused the deaths of five people, including a newborn baby, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old. She now faces 36 years in prison.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Bob Andres, Journal & Constitution / AP
Getty Images North America
Your Hottest News Stories
04-Nov-10 - Aimee Michael caused a massive car accident in Atlanta, a chain reaction that caused the deaths of five people, including a newborn baby, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old. She now faces 36 years in prison.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
04-Nov-10 - Sheree Whitfield of Bravo's 'Atlanta Housewives' had her brand-new luxury car seized.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
01-Nov-10 - UK resident Shirley Wales gave birth to a boy and girl who are different races.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
30-Oct-10 - Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, wife of rapper T.I., has been charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
28-Oct-10 - This weekend, two pastors rallied in Atlanta to request the resignation of Bishop Eddie Long.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
27-Oct-10 - Christopher White, Abdul Rasuul, and Leroy Johnson allege that they were told they had to buy food when they asked to use the restroom at a Third Avenue McDonald's.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
01-Nov-10 - Two pastors, Reuben Armstrong and Prophet H. Walker, teamed up to plan a rally against Bishop Eddie Long.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
26-Oct-10 - When a black Wall Street professional asked a cabbie to take him to Brooklyn, he was dragged through the streets of Soho.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
25-Oct-10 - While T.I. reported to jail on November 1, he doesn't have to face additional charges and possible jail time from the arrest in California.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
25-Oct-10 - Gregory Isaacs lost a long battle with cancer and died at his London home at the age of 59.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
Comments: (18)
Add a comment
By: PGR on 11/13/2010 10:14PM
Why No Real Comments? This Is Horrible.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: gerald on 11/14/2010 1:08AM
Thats because she is black,the comments will come out now.
Report This
By: mswll4 on 11/14/2010 11:36AM
@ GERALD: SHE IS BLACK, AND S L O W.
Report This
By: Khristella on 11/13/2010 11:46PM
This is just sad. That's what makes it hard for people that actually need help to get help.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: vdog on 11/14/2010 8:39AM
Not condoning what she did but don't act like WHITE FOLKS don't committ FRAUD and STEAL too. Ever heard of WALL STREET?
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: jewishways on 11/14/2010 4:57PM
Thank you! What is $25k compared to $1.2 trillion & counting? Bankers AND politicians GET CAUGHT and don't go to jail. Our country is still reeling from the aftermath of the pyramid scheme orchestrated by banks against the middle/working class. Would someone please tell me why every homeowner was paying PMI (mortgage insurance in case of default) but the banks needed a gov welfare to avoid collapse?
Report This
By: vdog on 11/14/2010 9:00PM
Excellent comment JEWISHWAYS. They should change WALL STREET's name to WELFARE STREET.
Report This
By: tired of poor me attitude on 11/14/2010 10:08AM
Who hires these criminals? Do they not know how to do a background check? Throw her cheating ass in Jail.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: shirley on 11/14/2010 7:23PM
Gerald and MSW114: You just like everyone else are entitled to an opinon. The crime was committed and she should be punished but not because she is black. There are just as many other ethnic backgrounds that commit horrible crimes. MW114: All Blacks are not
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Lee on 11/14/2010 8:35PM
That explains why so many kids fall
through the cracks.
Reply to this Comment | Report This