A former Kentucky state government employee who stole more than $444,000 and used much of it for pain pills and gambling has been sentenced to three years in federal prison, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV.
Brittany Joyce May, 35, of Frankfort, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The thefts happened when May worked at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, where her duties included managing payments to foster parents.
May submitted fake invoices for payments to foster parents who had not requested a payment or were no longer eligible, and diverted the money to accounts she controlled, according to the court record.
She changed the addresses of people in the computer system so they wouldn’t receive notice a payment had been made.
May acknowledged that she used identifying information from 45 people to initiate more than 540 wire transfers of money to herself, stealing $444,663 from the cabinet between July 2021 and May 2023.