TAVARES, Fla. — Two Lake County detention deputies are accused of using forged pay records to obtain child care assistance, and a third is accused of helping them, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation began Sept. 10 after a representative of the Early Learning Coalition of Lake County contacted LCSO about suspected fraud involving two detention deputies employed at the Lake County Jail, LCSO Sgt. Jim Vachon said. The coalition provides financial assistance for child care through federal and state grant funding.
Pay records submitted for the two deputies were flagged because of discrepancies involving their historical pay rates and other suspicious information, according to Vachon. Detectives compared the documents with the agency’s business records and found pay rates, take-home pay and identification numbers had been altered.
Fraud detectives interviewed both deputies and later determined a third detention deputy had assisted in producing the forged records, Vachon said.
Detectives obtained arrest warrants Wednesday for Keonna Phillips, 29; Kyre Rucker, 34; and Erin Mack, 41. Phillips and Rucker each face a charge of social welfare fraud, while Mack faces a charge of accessory to social welfare fraud, according to Vachon.
All three were arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail on $2,500 bond each. They have since been released on bond.
The detention deputies were suspended without pay while termination proceedings are underway, Vachon said.
