NORFOLK, Va. – A mother and daughter were sentenced to time in prison for defrauding the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program.
According to the Department of Justice, Cindy Hall, 41, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison and to three years of supervised release. Hall is also ordered to pay almost $250,000 in restitution to the Virginia Department of Health.
Hall’s mother and co-conspirator, Stephanie Almond, 61, was sentenced on June 29 to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and she’s ordered to pay restitution as well.
The mother and daughter pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and unlawful monetary transactions.
According to court documents, Hall ran a non-profit organization called Send Thee Community Outreach, which claimed to administer the USDA, federally-funded, Summer Food Service Program.
The USDA program feeds children during the summer when free-lunch programs end with the school year.
The Virginia Department of Health administers the program, and in 2012 and 2013 Hall submitted fraudulent claims to the VDH for reimbursement, resulting in an over-payment of at least $150,000 to Hall.
Hall’s mother previously ran her own non-profit organization called Neighborhood Pride from 2008-2011. She was eventually disqualified by the VDH.
