District Attorney P. David Soares announced that LEONA JOHNSON, 31, of Albany, pleaded guilty to (1) Count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E Felony, before the Honorable Peter A. Lynch in Albany County Court Tuesday morning.
Between April 9, 2012 and April 30, 2014, JOHNSON applied for and qualified to receive public assistance in the form of Day Care Benefits. During this time period, JOHNSON fraudulently submitted records indicating that a woman known to her was acting as a legally exempt day care provider, which was later determined to be false. JOHNSON would take the checks that were supposed to be paid to her child care provider and instead deposit them into her own bank account. As a result of her conduct, JOHNSON stole $34,271.73 in benefits to which she was not entitled.
JOHNSON faces up to 1 to 3 years in State Prison when sentenced on March 7, 2015.
JOHNSON will also be ordered to pay full restitution back to the Albany County Department of Social Services.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Peluso of the Financial Crimes Unit is prosecuting this case.
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