Couple Accused Of Defrauding Adoption Aid Program
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- A former Grand Junction couple are accused of defrauding more than $53,000 from an adoption subsidy assistance program while falsely saying that they were financially supporting two adopted daughters.
Prosecutors have charged Tony Padilla Jr. and his wife, Venica, with theft. They appeared in court Tuesday. The couple now live in Aurora. They have an unlisted phone number.
The Daily Sentinel reports the theft is alleged to have occurred between September 2003 and November 2009.
Venica Padilla is a former Mesa County Department of Human Services case manager. County authorities have said her employment with the county ended in October 2010, about two months after she was first questioned by fraud investigators.
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