Defendant Charged Thousands of Dollars in Personal Expenses to Company Credit Cards
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced his office obtained a seven-year prison sentence in its prosecution of a Winnebago County man who embezzled more than $100,000 from LTC Support Services, a Galesburg, Illinois-based company that operates Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) homes for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Steven A. Bennett, 53, of Roscoe, Illinois was sentenced Tuesday by Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Joseph G. McGraw after pleading guilty in September 2022 to one Class 1 felony count of theft.
“CILA homes allow Illinoisans who have developmental disabilities to live independently in their communities. It is reprehensible that an individual responsible for caring for some of our most vulnerable residents would use their position to steal and personally benefit,” Raoul said. “I will continue to partner with the Illinois State Police and other state agencies to hold individuals accountable for defrauding Illinois taxpayers.”
From January 2013 until June 2016, Bennett was the executive director of 29 CILA homes in northern Illinois operated by LTC Support Services. In that role, Bennett was assigned corporate credit cards for incidental expenses at the homes, which Raoul alleged Bennett used for personal purchases. Raoul also alleged Bennett used credits cards assigned to subordinates during and after their employment with LTC had ended. According to Raoul, Bennett even forged documents to make personal purchases appear as if they were for the CILA homes he oversaw.
Bennett used the corporate credit cards to fund large personal purchases, including more than $45,000 in electronics and appliances from Best Buy and charging more than $9,400 to remodel his home bathroom. Bennett also used the credit cards to pay for personal trips, including more than $2,600 in purchases at Six Flags and $5,400 in hotel charges for weekend trips to St. Louis.
The case originated as an investigation by the Illinois State Police.
“Accountability is something the Illinois State Police takes very seriously and we will continue to work closely with Attorney General Raoul’s Office to diligently investigate embezzlement cases,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly.
Supervising Attorney Steven Krueger and Assistant Attorney General Robert Sparano handled the case for Raoul’s Medicaid Fraud Bureau.
