New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott today announced the sentencing of and payment of restitution by a former Capital Region group home supervisor who stole food stamp benefits from developmentally disabled residents under her care, and used her company’s grocery store credit account to stock her own home with food.
Heather Seahorn, 47, of Clinton Street, Albany, was sentenced in Colonie Town Court to payment of $2,603.02 in restitution and three years of probation for her August 2017 guilty plea to Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person in the Second Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the Second Degree.
“With callous disregard, this defendant stole from vulnerable citizens who were under her care,” said Inspector General Leahy Scott. “I will pursue anyone who shows such clear disregard for those individuals who are most in need of assistance.”
An investigation by Inspector General Leahy Scott found that from January through August 2015, Seahorn used Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP” or Food Stamps) accounts belonging to two developmentally disabled group home residents to make approximately $1,800 in food purchases for herself and her own family. During the same time period, she used the grocery store credit account of her employer, Albany-based Living Resources, to buy about $800 in groceries for herself. The account’s intended purpose was to allow group home employees to purchase grocery items for the Living Resources group home in Colonie where Seahorn worked. Living Resources is certified by the New York State Office for the People with Developmental Disabilities to provide residential services for the developmentally disabled.
Seahorn, during the investigation into her actions, resigned her position with Living Resources in August 2015.
Seahorn pleaded guilty to the charges in the Town of Colonie Court on August 3, 2017.
Inspector General Leahy Scott thanked Living Resources for their assistance and cooperation with the investigation, the New York State Police for their assistance with the arrest, and Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares and his office for prosecuting this matter.
