Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Pendleton woman has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and failure to file a tax return after being accused by investigators of taking more than $350,000 from a fund that helps offset child care costs for low-income families.
Sharon Jackson, 60, received the money by falsely reporting that children were attending one of her child care businesses at dates and times when she knew they were not there, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday in a press release.
From 2017 to 2024, Jackson operated three child care businesses in Indianapolis: Precious Hearts of Solid Rock, Greater St. Mark Five Star Ministry, and Little Angels of Precious Hearts.
Jackson did not immediately return a message left on Friday by The Indiana Lawyer with the Greater St. Mark Five Star Ministry
Federal prosecutors say Jackson used Hoosier Works Child Care cards, which parents use to swipe their children in and out of the Little Angels facility, to fraudulently mark children as present on days they were not in attendance. She also used family-specific information like voucher numbers and zip codes to submit false attendance information.
Several parents allowed Jackson to falsely claim their child attended the Little Angels facility in exchange for a portion of the Child Care and Development funds, according to the press release.
Jackson also defrauded the Child and Adult Care Food Program by claiming reimbursements for meals that were never provided and creating fraudulent invoices for food she items that were never purchased, the release states.
Jackson also never submitted federal tax returns for 2018 and 2020 through 2023. She owes the federal government more than $287,000 in taxes from those years, the release states.
Her first court appearance is scheduled for next Thursday.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.