How Could You? Hall of Shame- Teresa Jane Standridge et al.UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Greenville, South Carolina, “Six former employees are accused of taking raises and bonuses without permission from an Anderson children’s home worth more than $550,000, according to a federal indictment.

According to the Sept. 10 indictment, Teresa Jane Standridge stole money from New Foundations Children and Family Services, now known as New Foundations, in Anderson and paid herself and Tommy Dale Standridge, Cathy Whitlock Lowe, Veronica Dale Williams, William Lee Simmons and Kristie Lynn Brock.

Standridge was in charge of payroll for the children’s home but did not have the authority to grant the six employees bonuses or raises, the indictment states. Court documents state Standridge used direct deposits and pay checks drawn on New Foundations’ Wells Fargo bank account to make the fraudulent payments from January 2007 to December 2010.

Standridge’s brother-in-law Terry Standridge told FOX Carolina he now has to repair the Standridge family’s damaged reputation. Both he and Standridge’s husband own separate body shops, and he said he hopes these serious allegations do not adversely affect his business.

If convicted, the indictment states the defendants would have to forfeit a minimum of the amount obtained, which was approximately $557,965.50 and was not authorized by the nonprofit organization.

According to federal court documents, the six defendants are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 8 with jury selection set for Oct. 14.”

6 accused of taking $550K from Anderson children’s home[Fox Carolina 10/2/14 by Casey Vaughn]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update: “Three of six people indicted in the theft of $567,000 from New Foundations Home for Children in Anderson pleaded guilty to charges in federal court this week.

Former New Foundations employees Teresa Jane Standridge and Cathy Whitlock Lowe pleaded guilty to bank fraud during a hearing Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Greenville, Assistant U.S. Attorney Max Cauthen said.

Teresa Jane Standridge, who previously processed payroll at New Foundations, also paid $400,000 in restitution at the hearing, Cauthen said. That money will eventually be returned to New Foundations.

Her husband, Tommy Dale Standridge, pleaded guilty to receiving money for not revealing an ongoing crime to authorities.

No sentencing date has been set for the three.

Teresa Jane Standridge and Lowe could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison or a $1 million fine along with five years of supervised release, Cauthen said. Tommy Dale Standridge faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a $100,000 fine with a year of supervised release.

Charges in the case are still pending against former New Foundations employees Veronica Dale Williams, William Lee Simmons and Kristie Lynn Brock, court records show.

According to an indictment issued last September, Teresa Jane Standridge diverted money from New Foundations’ bank account to the other defendants from January 2007 to December 2010.

New Foundations CEO Steve Dean was approached by an employee with concerns shortly after he started working at New Foundations in fall 2010. After discovering that money was missing, Dean alerted law enforcement and fired the employees who were later indicted.

Since then, Dean said, New Foundations has taken several steps to prevent a similar theft from occurring in the future.

He said his organization now uses outside firms to handle payroll and whistleblower complaints from its 135 employees. Besides working with an external auditor and a certified public accountant to strengthen its financial risk-management procedures, he said, New Foundations has hired more qualified and experienced employees in its finance department.

Despite these steps, the Anderson County Council decided to cut off its funding to New Foundations this year. The county had provided about $10,000 annually to the nonprofit in the past, but council members voiced concerns during recent budget talks about the problems at New Foundations that were detailed in last fall’s indictment.

Dean said New Foundations has overcome the financial loss and negative publicity stemming from the criminal case involving its former employees. The nonprofit agency, which has a yearly budget of about $4 million, even managed to expand its services to troubled children and families, he said.

A total of 54 children stay in two group homes run by New Foundations, which was created 30 years ago. New Foundations also operates a community counseling center and provides home-based preventive services to more than 1,000 families each year, Dean said.

“It was a very challenging time for our agency, but we were able to weather the storm,” he said.”

Three plead guilty in theft from agency for troubled children[Independent Mail 7/1/15 by Kirk Brown]