A former caseworker at a Charlestown nonprofit has pleaded guilty to stealing over $45,000 from her employer.
Donna Scott, of Vallejo, California, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court via Zoom to the charge of larceny over $250, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s office. Following the plea, she was sentenced to three years of probation, with home confinement and GPS monitoring for the first year. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $45,132.59 to the nonprofit organization that she embezzled from – Heading Home, Inc.
A joint investigation by Healey’s office and the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General revealed that Scott embezzled the money from March 2015 through November 2016. At the time, Scott had been working for the agency as a program manager focusing on housing and stabilization issues. The funds that Scott stole – and used to purchase gift cards and pay personal bills – were intended to provide transitional and permanent housing and support services to low-income, homeless and formerly homeless people and their families.
“Our state’s nonprofits work hard to help residents in Massachusetts and should not be taken advantage of by employees looking to abuse their positions for personal gain,” Healey said in a statement. “We are pleased that these funds will be returned to Heading Home, Inc. so that it can continue its mission of helping low-income families find housing and receive support.”