Former DHS caseworker accused of stealing $300,000 in benefits

A former caseworker for the state’s Department of Human Services is accused of stealing more than $300,000 in assistance meant for families in need.

Debra Moore, 63, was arrested Wednesday on felony charges of theft of government money and official misconduct, according to a statement from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.

Authorities claim Moore sold LINK cards to friends and relatives, and added unauthorized benefits in exchange for cash while she was an IDHS caseworker at the Woodlawn Family Community Resource Center.

Between 2004 and 2013, Moore gave more than $300,000 in unauthorized benefits to people who were not eligible to receive them, officials claim.

“The defendant’s acts cheated not only the taxpayers who fund the programs she was entrusted to manage, but also those who rely on these vital state services,” Madigan said in a prepared statement.

If convicted of the theft charge, Moore faces between six and 30 years in prison, the statement said.

Moore, a former Chicago resident who now lives in Baytown, Texas,
was ordered held on a $50,000 bond at a hearing Thursday, officials said. She will next appear in court Aug. 6.