United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Wilton Woman Charged With Stealing Job-Training Funds
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lauren Horwood |
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June 22, 2011 |
PHONE: (916) 554-2706 |
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www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae |
usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov |
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Docket #: 2:11-cr-253 KJM |
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging Tammy Pacheco, 37, of Wilton, with theft of employment and training funds. The indictment, returned on June 16, 2011, was unsealed today after Pacheco was arrested and taken into federal custody.
United States Attorney Wagner stated, “In these difficult economic times when federal agencies are working hard to increase employment opportunities, it is particularly important that we be vigilant in safeguarding the integrity of job-training programs. These programs are important to people who are seeking to improve their economic prospects.”
According to the indictment, Pacheco was employed as an Employment Training Specialist and Job Developer with La Familia Counseling Center Inc. in Sacramento. La Familia receives funds from the federal government to assist eligible individuals find and qualify for meaningful employment. The indictment alleges that Pacheco stole job training funds from La Familia by fraudulently listing individuals as participants in an intensive on-the-job training program when those individuals were not participants in that program.
Pacheco was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This case is the product of a joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the California Employment Development Department, Investigations Division. Assistant United States Attorney Jared C. Dolan is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Pacheco faces a maximum statutory penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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