UNION COUNTY, N.C.,None — A Union County Department of Social Services worker has been arrested on charges she embezzled nearly $3,000 from the food stamp program.
Deputies arrested Beth Chamberlain Allen and her boyfriend, Randall Baucom, on Saturday at their Marshville home. Together, the couple faces 42 criminal counts including identity theft, accessing a government computer, and embezzlement.
Authorities said an internal investigation in January tipped off county officials to missing funds in the Electronic Benefit Transfer food stamp funds at the Department of Social Services.
"Beth Allen had total control of entering people in to the EBT benefits, so that's where the initial suspicions were raised," said Union County Detective Brian Keziah.
Allen had been head of the EBT program at DSS for several years.
County officials would not comment Tuesday on her employment record.
Detectives said their investigation revealed Allen had misused an EBT account formerly assigned to a Union County resident who is now in prison.
Although his account should have been closed when he went to prison last March, investigators said Allen kept it open and began funneling food stamp funds into it.
Allen then sent the monthly EBT card to the home of her boyfriend, Baucom, according to deputies.
Detectives said they have surveillance video from Food Lion grocery stores in Marshville and Wingate that showed Baucom using the EBT card to purchase hundreds of dollars in groceries.
At one point, investigators said, Allen was even adding fake dependents to the inmate's EBT, in order to increase her monthly payout by hundreds of dollars.
"I think it was $680 a month, at one point in time," Keziah said.
Allen's son said Tuesday that his mother and her boyfriend were innocent.
"It's not true, and they have an attorney, and any further comment will come from their attorney," Josh Allen said.
County officials fired Allen on Jan. 30, saying in part, "The inappropriate personal conduct displayed throughout the transaction history of this case is disturbing and undermines the public trust."
A Union County spokesman said the county is hiring an additional fraud officer at the DSS building to ensure oversight of taxpayers' money.