DHS caseworker created fake LINK accounts
<span>A Steeleville woman is facing a June 18 court appearance after being charged with 12 felonies in an alleged three-year scheme to embezzle state funds from the Illinois Department of Human Services.</span>
<span>Mary Hurst, 50, is facing one count of theft over $100,000 (a Class X felony), six counts of official misconduct (a Class 3 offense) and five counts of wire fraud (also a Class 3 offense) relating to her employment as a human services caseworker with the Randolph County Family Community Resource Center.</span>
<span>The total amount Hurst is allegedly charged with stealing is $114,819.</span>
<span>The theft charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison. The Class 3 offenses are punishable by two to five years each.</span>
<span>The charges were filed May 21 by the Illinois Attorney General's Office through Kilby MacFadden, who is an assistant to Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Bond for Hurst was set at $30,000 and she posted a 10 percent cash bond and was released.</span>
<span>According to the court file, the offenses were committed from March 1, 2012 to March 31, 2015. Hurst was employed with DHS from 2004 to 2015 and was promoted to caseworker in 2006.</span>
<span>MacFadden stated in the court file that Hurst had access to confidential customer information and LINK accounts, and oversaw cases that involved temporary assistance for needy families.</span>
<span>DHS reported Hurst created four separate LINK accounts under the names of Janice Welty, Debbie Todd, Louise Morrow and Delta Walters using fake dates of birth, addresses and social security numbers.</span>
<span>Hurst allegedly issued the LINK cards to herself in the Randolph County office prior to business hours, activating the cards using a pin number of her choosing.</span>
<span>The DHS investigation showed that all calls to activate the accounts were allegedly dialed from Hurst's office phone.</span>
<span>MacFadden wrote that as part of the Attorney General's investigation, Hurst admitted that as a caseworker, she had access to LINK customer information and the actual cards.</span>
<span>In court documents, Hurst allegedly stated that during a 2012 DHS training seminar, she was instructed that $99,999.99 could be in a client's account at any given time.</span>
<span>"That number always stuck out in my mind," Hurst was quoted as saying.</span>