NORFOLK, Va. - Cindy Hall, 41, of Monroe, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for defrauding the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program. Hall was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $249,225.75 in restitution to the Virginia Department of Health.
Hall’s mother and co-conspirator Stephanie Almond, 61, of Franklin, was sentenced on June 29 to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $249,225.75 in restitution.
Hall pleaded guilty on February 3 and Almond pleaded guilty on January 27 to charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions. According to the statement of facts and evidence at trial, Hall ran a non-profit organization known as Send Thee Community Outreach, allegedly to administer the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which is a USDA federally-funded program to feed children during the summer when free-lunch programs end at the conclusion of the school year. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) administers the SFSP in Virginia. In 2012 and 2013, Hall submitted fraudulent claims to VDH for reimbursement, resulting in almost $250,000 in overpayment to Hall. Almond previously ran her own non-profit organization, Neighborhood Pride, which was a SFSP sponsor from approximately 2008 until 2011, when she was disqualified by VDH. Almond continued to be involved with the program with Hall, until Hall was told she was disqualified by VDH from receiving funds in 2014.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police; June W. Jennings, Inspector General of Virginia; and Phyllis K. Fong, Inspector General for U.S. Department of Agriculture, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi and Kevin Hudson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-132.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
