FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
March 12, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES CONVICTION OF FORMER FUND CUSTODIAN
FOR THEFT FROM DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATIVE SERVICES
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange today announced the
conviction of a former fund custodian for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation
Services for the theft of $339,314 from the agency’s local Birmingham office. Erica
Fredrose Johnson, 39, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Circuit Court
on Monday to first-degree theft of property.
Johnson was sentenced to 32 months, which was suspended for a term of five
years supervised probation, and ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to the
Birmingham Rehabilitation Revolving Fund and $263,514 to the agency’s insurance
company, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland Insurance. Previously, Johnson
had repaid $800 to the insurance company.
“This woman not only betrayed the citizens of Alabama, by whom she was
employed and whose money she stole, but she also exploited those in need that the
Birmingham Rehabilitation Revolving Fund was meant to serve,” said Attorney
General Strange. “I am pleased that Erica Fredrose Johnson has been held to account
for her crime and that the money is being repaid.”
The defendant was employed as the fund custodian from 2005 until her
resignation in 2012. During this time, she wrote a total of 280 checks from the revolving
fund to pay personal accounts as well as to provide money to her family and friends.
When she received bank statements which contained the images of checks written
from the fund’s account she would alter the check images to give the appearance that
the check was written to a legitimate creditor.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a
Jefferson County grand jury, resulting in Johnson’s indictment in December of 2013.
Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Ternisha Miles and
thanked the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
