Pubdate: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 Source: News & Observer (NC) Copyright: 2003 The News and Observer Publishing Company Contact: http://www.news-observer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304 Author: Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer Fiscal Review Pending SCRUTINY TIGHTER AFTER MONEY STOLEN DURHAM -- Officials at the Durham Center are keeping a closer watch on cash after an employee stole thousands of dollars from a drug treatment program, but a search for similar accounting deficiencies in other county departments is still months away. Antoine D. Schoefield, 36, pleaded guilty last month to three counts of embezzlement by a public officer or trustee. On Friday, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson ordered Schoefield to repay the county $37,500 -- half the amount missing from the program's account. As part of a plea agreement, the former county employee also received an eight-to 10-month suspended sentence, 36 months of supervised probation, one day in the Durham County jail and 50 hours of community service. Hired by the county in June 1997, Schoefield was responsible for collecting payments from students in an addiction education program for drug abusers and alcoholics for which attendance is usually ordered by a judge in lieu of jail time. Schoefield was responsible for collecting the $150 tuition from participants, recording the payments and making bank deposits. Schoefield told investigators that he skimmed cash from the deposits to pay his credit card bills and other debts. County officials became suspicious in the fall of 2002 after Schoefield went two months without making any deposits. Officials said that there was little chance the theft would have been noticed otherwise. "We were trusting one individual to do it all," said Evester Bailey, the director of the Durham Center's Court and Crisis Unit, where Schoefield was an office assistant. "At first, only a portion of the cash was pilfered. But as the sums got larger, it was easier to notice." Officials eventually matched the receipts given to the students between January 2001 and January 2003 to the amount deposited in a county account and determined that $74,999.50 was missing, according to court papers. When officials began asking about the money, Schoefield sent an e-mail message to his boss resigning from his $23,616-a-year job in January. He later told investigators that he took between $8,000 and $10,000. The judge ordered the former employee to pay $37,500 in restitution after Schoefield said he had been unable to find another job. Lowell Siler, the assistant county attorney handling the case, said the county would sue Schoefield to try to recover the rest of the money. Schoefield could not be reached. Bailey said that as a result of the theft, payments to the Court and Crisis Unit of more than $50 are now required in the form of a money order or certified check, and managers review all bank deposits and statements. The Durham Center is the county agency that serves residents with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and addictions to drugs or alcohol. It has about 8,500 clients and a budget of $36.4 million - -- about $20 million of which comes from charges for service. Ellen Holliman, the director of the center, did not return calls for comment. Charlie E. Hobgood, the internal auditor for Durham County, said an employee shouldn't have the responsibility both to receive and record money and then make deposits. Hobgood said he plans a review of other county departments to see if there are similar vulnerabilities to embezzlement. That review might begin in January, he said -- a year after the theft was discovered. "It's on my to-do list," Hobgood said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake