BUFFALO, N.Y.-Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Halima Mohamed, 35, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of theft of government funds, was sentenced to five months in prison and three years supervised release, to include five months home detention, by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay restitution totaling $130,188 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is prohibited from owning/operating a daycare facility for the duration of her sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura K. O’Donnell, who handled the case, stated that in February 2015, the defendant and her husband, Tariq Butt, opened Twinkle Stars Day Care Center in Buffalo. Between January 2016 and September 2016, Mohamed submitted hundreds of fraudulent claims to Erie County seeking reimbursement for daycare services purportedly provided by Twinkle Stars to children eligible for Child Care and Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The defendant knew that the children listed on the claims did not actually attend Twinkle Stars on the dates and times claimed, making the daycare ineligible for reimbursement. In total, between January 2016 and September 2016, Erie County paid Twinkle Stars approximately $130,188 for daycare services, which were never provided.
Tariq Butt has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Scott Lampert, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
