Former Memphis Day Care Director Sentenced For Falsifying Food Program Documents

Photo: Memphis, Tennessee from the air.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Published July 19, 2021

By Jon Styf [The Center Square contributor] –

A former Memphis day care director was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for submitting false documents to the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Tennessee Capitol Building in Nashville

Fifty-five-year-old Ollie Stephenson of Germantown pleaded guilty to a criminal information charge after being accused of submitting a false Regions Bank statement and food invoice to the department in an audit during April and May 2020. Stephenson also was ordered to pay $375,158.80 in restitution.

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Stephenson was the director of Louiseā€™s Learning Tree Daycare Center in Memphis. It was part of the U.S. Department of Agricultureā€™s Child and Adult Care Feeding Program.

ā€œ[Thursday’s] sentence serves not only as just punishment for this defendant but also as notice to others who seek to prey on feeding assistance programs used to feed vulnerable populations,ā€ said Jason Williams, special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General. ā€œThis collaborative effort with our state and federal partners demonstrates that wherever you are, we will find you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.ā€

Stephenson pleaded guilty April 14 and was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman. Stephenson is not allowed parole.

ā€œThis fraud is coming to light thanks to the vigilance and hard work of multiple public entities who recognized something was wrong and began looking into it,ā€ TDHS Commissioner Clarence Carter said. ā€œTennesseans expect their tax dollars to be used to help the people that need them, not individuals seeking to take advantage of the system for their own gain.ā€

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About the Author:

Jon Styf is a freelance writer for Tennessee and South Carolina.

Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.

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