Five government watchdog workers have been indicted for allegedly obtaining reduced-price lunches for their children by claiming to earn salaries that fall below the poverty level, despite making well above their stated incomes, the Washington Post reports.
The indicted federal workers, which include five employees of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the spouse of a separate GAO employee, and a member of Maryland’s Prince George’s County school board, took advantage of the discounted meals provided by the federal government for needy families by fraudulently reporting their incomes, prosecutors say.
"This is a program for people who can’t afford it, but these are people who can," John Erzen, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s office said of the scheme. Those involved were charged with fraud, theft, and filing false applications.
The federal school lunch program is intended for families who earn incomes at or below the federal poverty level–or $30,615 for a family of four–who qualify for free meals. Additionally, if a family of four earns less than $43,568, they would qualify for school lunches that cost no more than 40 cents. Those indicted had salaries ranging from $55,000 to $78,000 and are said to have cost the government more than $13,000 over the course of a four-year span.
The investigation stemmed from a GAO report conducted in 2014 on the federal school lunch program that showed some of its own employees appeared on the list. During the audit, more than 300 government workers were found to have possibly abused the program.
Among those charged are Barbara Rowley, Jamilah Reid, Tracy Williams, Charlene Savoy, James Pinkney– who is the spouse of a GAO worker—and Prince George’s County school board member Lynette Mundey.