FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 19, 2003)-A former employee of the Henry County Attorney has been indicted for the theft or attempted theft of more than $16,000 in undistributed child support funds.

Theressa Y. Clements, 45, of Pleasureville, Ky., was indicted Wednesday in Franklin County on multiple counts of theft and attempted theft, unlawful access to a computer and criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree. The grand jury also returned a single indictment for tampering with physical evidence.

Steve Veno, Child Support Director for the Cabinet for Families and Children, said Clements apparently started directing child support checks to herself in September. He said she had been trained in August on procedures for processing undistributed child support funds-money that has not yet reached its intended recipient because of faulty addresses or other missing information.

In October, one check went astray and the person who received it alerted the staff of Henry County Attorney, Virginia Harrod, who in turn alerted the CFC Child Support Division, Veno said. Harrod-like county attorneys throughout most of Kentucky-administers child support jointly with the cabinet.

Veno said Harrod promptly suspended Clements and later fired her. He said a State Police investigation showed Clements had fraudulently directed child support checks to a Post Office box she had rented.

Veno said that Clements cashed child support checks worth $5,047 but that the cabinet was able to stop payment on checks worth another $11,361. No one entitled to child support will lose any benefits because of the apparent fraud, he said. Veno also said the Cabinet will seek to recover the stolen money plus the cost of the investigation.

He said Clements apparently entered false names and addresses on existing case files just long enough to issue checks, then restored the original information. To prevent any recurrence of this type of fraud, he said, the cabinet has programmed its child support processing system to flag changes of name or address made within certain time frames.

Whenever anyone knowingly directs child support to anyone other than the rightful recipients, "we’re prosecuting . . . to the fullest extent of the law," Veno said. In this case, he said, prompt and vigorous action by Harrod and the State Police made it possible to prosecute before any further theft could occur.