An ex-employee of the District’s Department of Employment Services was arrested on Tuesday in connection with embezzlement accusations.
A grand jury in the District Court for DC indicted the 51-year-old woman, identified as Rhayda Barnes Thomas of DC, for allegedly embezzling funds between May 2015 and April 2018.
Barnes Thomas was part of the Department’s Project Empowerment Program, which provides supportive services to DC residents living in low-income areas with high unemployment rates and those with a history of substance abuse or previous incarceration.
She has been charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and first-degree fraud.
The woman’s actions have led to a loss of around $314,000 to $350,000 for the DC government, according to court documents.
Barnes Thomas was initially a participant of the Project Empowerment Program, and she was hired in February 2014 as a program support assistant.
Starting in May 2015, she has allegedly embezzled funds through her position by reactivating the profiles of 16 former participants of the program and misrepresenting their information in a database to make them appear like they were working for a non-profit organization.
Acting on behalf of these former Project Empowerment participants, she also ordered replacement and new prepaid debit cards, according to the indictment.
As a result of her actions, the DC government requested that Wells Fargo Bank load funds onto those prepaid debit cards that were controlled by the defendant.
Barnes Thomas was released pending legal proceedings, following her court appearance on October 4.