Yuya Tamai / CC
A Cotton Valley woman has pleaded guilty to stealing 1.1 million dollars from a federal program dedicated to feeding poor children.
US Attorney David Joseph says 59-year-old Myrna Quarles set up a program claiming to feed economically disadvantaged children during summer months when they were not at school.
“The money was sent to her, and she fabricated how many meals she actually provided,” said Joseph. “The state agency sending her federal money provided her with about 1.1 million dollars more than she was entitled too.”
Joseph says some meals were provided during the program’s two-year run, but the reported numbers were greatly inflated.
Instead of feeding economically disadvantaged children, Quarles loaded up the program’s credit card with several eye-popping expenses. Joseph detailed some of the most notable expenses.
“$8,000 dollars at Saks Fifth Avenue, $22,000 dollars at the Tractor Supply Store in Shreveport, she took the entire family and her friends to New York, bought cruise tickets for her and her family, $2,000-dollar tab at Superior Steakhouse in Shreveport,” said Joseph.
Those credit card expenses totaled up to roughly $370,000 dollars in personal spending on top of the over million dollars she stole from the program.
Joseph says the case was particularly egregious and shocked his conscious. “It’s essentially theft from economically disadvantaged children,” said Joseph. “This money is paid by taxpayers to make sure that kids do not go hungry in this country, and that money was stolen by this lady.”
Quarles faces up to ten years in jail, a $250,000 dollar fine, and restitution.
