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Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Date Published
October 17, 2022
News Type
Press Release
Link to Original
USAO Southern District of West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Pamela McDaniel, 68, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to alteration of a postal money order, and admitted she used her position at the Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority (CKHA) to obtain the money order and embezzle more than $28,000.

According to court documents and statements made in court, McDaniel had been employed by CKHA since 2006 and was serving as a housing manager in 2018. As a housing manager, McDaniel’s duties included collecting tenant rental payments and forwarding them to the CKHA accounts clerk. On January 10, 2018, McDaniel received a $235 postal money order from a CKHA tenant intended for rental payment. McDaniel admitted to adding her own name to the postal money order to make it appear as though McDaniel was the intended beneficiary of the payment. McDaniel deposited the postal money order into her personal checking account.

McDaniel further admitted that from 2007 to 2018, she used her position as a CKHA housing manager to embezzle $28,523.30. As part of this scheme, McDaniel altered money orders she received from tenants attempting to pay dues that they owed CKHA and deposited the altered money orders into her personal checking account. McDaniel offset some of the money she stole by repaying a portion of the embezzled funds.

McDaniel is scheduled to be sentenced on January 18, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. McDaniel agreed to pay $17,543.92 in restitution.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Blackwell is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-157.