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Former State Employee Indicted for Allegedly Embezzling Over $33,000 Meant to Help the Elderly

Selentria Kendrick, former senior employee with the Middle Georgia Regional Commission, has been indicted by a Macon-Bibb County grand jury.

Pro Roof GA

According to the charges contained in the indictment and other public records: Georgia’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) Program is a joint initiative between the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and the Georgia Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Division of Aging Services (DAS). As a Senior Coordinator employed by the Middle Georgia Regional Commission (MGRC), Kendrick was responsible for helping older nursing home clients transition into an independent home. Transition assistance includes the transportation of furniture, groceries, and other daily household items.

After a referral from the Department of Audits and Accounts, the Office of the State Inspector General (OIG) determined that from January 11, 2016, to October 7, 2019, Kendrick charged 72 transactions totaling $33,691.80 for moving expenses allegedly performed by Two Men Moving Company. Kendrick regularly claimed the moving company transported items that had already been delivered. In addition, the moving company was solely owned by Kendrick’s boyfriend, who from approximately May 3, 2016, until his release on June 12, 2017, was confined continuously at the Clayton Transitional Center approximately 75 miles from Macon.

A financial analysis determined that the submitted invoices were paid by MGRC directly into accounts controlled by Kendrick, and that Kendrick accessed the accounts and initiated fund transfers while located in her Macon governmental office.

“Not only is theft of government money a serious crime that will be vigorously prosecuted, but all too often it also deprives our most vulnerable citizens of vital assistance,” said State Inspector General Scott McAfee. “OIG will continue to uphold the integrity of state programs and ensure taxpayer dollars are used for their intended purpose.”

On July 26, 2022, Selentria Mignon Kendrick, 42, of Macon, Georgia, was indicted by a Macon-Bibb County grand jury of one count of Theft by Taking, an offense punishable by two to twenty-five years imprisonment.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the state’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The Georgia Office of the Attorney General is prosecuting the case.

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