Former Prince George County Board of Education Member and current United States Government Accountability Office employee, Lynette Mundey, was convicted of felony theft, welfare fraud, filing a false public assistance application, and several other charges in February 2016.
Government Accountability Office (GOA) staff uncovered the theft after conducting an audit of the National School Lunch Program. Between 2010 and 2014, Mundey and four other GOA employees underreported income or reported no income in an effort to receive reduced lunch for their children.
There are income restrictions based on family size to receive reduced lunch under the national program. Mundey’s income throughout the period of receiving reduced lunch for her child exceeded the maximum allowable income from approximately 90% to 120%. She was found to have received $1,700 in free lunch and for that, she faced up to 49 years in prison.
On April 29, 2016, she was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service; this is a criminal conviction that will remain on her record.
Being charged with felony theft, filing a false public assistance application and welfare fraud are criminal offenses that could not only result in a prison sentence, and fines, but could seriously impact the ability of the accused to secure future employment.
All of these charges are considered dishonest crimes and while any criminal conviction can have a negative impact on future employment, only violent crimes create a more negative first impression than dishonest crimes.
All jobs give employees access to information, money, or products that employers do not trust the general public with. As a result, there is an inherent requirement that there be some degree of trust in the employer-employee relationship.
A pending charge, especially a widely publicized charge, or a criminal conviction for a dishonest crime suggests a lack of trustworthiness that can make it difficult for someone with that background to secure employment.
Maryland fraud attorney Seth Okin, commented, “Any government official committing these types of white-collar crimes, namely fraud and theft, can be looking at very serious consequences. Mrs. Mundey was very fortunate that she did not receive any jail time.”
