Legal Issues

Group Home Owner Sentenced to Prison For Stealing Foster Care Funds

Group Home Owner Sentenced to Prison For Stealing Foster Care Funds

A San Jose, California group home owner has been sentenced to federal prison for stealing foster care funds. 

Annie Corbett, who owned a company that provided group homes for foster children will spend 12 months and a day in prison for wire fraud and failure to pay certain employment taxes to the IRS. The Honorable Beth L. Freeman, United States District Judge, presided over the sentencing.

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Credit: enigma_images/Getty Images

According to an official release from the IRS, Corbett originally pleaded guilty to her charges on September 15, 2022. As the CEO and President of Corbett Group Homes, Inc. (CGH), Corbett provided foster care residences for children and adolescents, primarily in her native San Jose. She admitted that between 2011 and mid-2018, she was solely responsible for CGH's financial accounts, including payroll. Corbett also oversaw the hiring and firing of the company's 60-some employees.

As part of her plea deal, Corbett confirmed she intentionally failed to pay employment taxes. Although she contacted her payroll company to learn how much she owed, she neither paid the required sum nor filed W-2s. Corbett admittedly deceived her bookkeeper and CPA into thinking she was tax-compliant. Between 2014 and 2017, Corbett scammed the U.S. Department of the Treasury out of $752,000.

Furthermore, Corbett funneled funds she received from local county governments and private charities into her own accounts. The funds were, of course, specifically designated for the care of foster children.

Corbett used the money she stole from the foster children to enhance her family's lifestyle, making personal credit card payments and investing in a vacation timeshare for her household. 

There were 44 identified victim-donors in the IRS-led investigation, but Judge Freeman noted that Corbett's crimes were "very serious" due primarily to the fact that they deprived foster children of funding they should have received.

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Credit: AnnaStills/Getty Images

In addition to her prison term, Corbett was ordered to serve three months of supervised release. In a hearing on June 27, Corbett will be ordered to pay restitution in a yet-to-be-determined amount. 

She has until September 5 to willingly surrender and begin her prison term. 

What do you think about this foster care scam?

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Rebekah Barton

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