An administrator at Northwest High School has been arrested for identity theft.
Lashondra Catrice Taylor, 43, of Opelousas, was booked with Unlawful Production, Manufacturing, Distribution or Possession of Fraudulent Documents for Identification Purposes and Identity theft.
School Board officials say she is still employed, pending the outcome of an investigation.
Taylor is accused of altering a nursing home document to try to get her mother's SNAP benefits reinstated, according to a release from St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz.
In July, an employee of a nursing home called deputies to report that "a fraudulent letter that was sent to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) by LaShondra Taylor, attempting to reinstate SNAP benefits for her mother who is a nursing home resident at the facility. The resident has been in the nursing home since June 2021," Guidroz said.
Upon further investigation, it was learned the letter was submitted on the nursing home letterhead. When questioned by a DCFS representative, the employee whose name appeared on the letter, denied sending correspondence to DCFS concerning any of the nursing home patients. And she did not request or instruct LaShondra Taylor to submit documents on behalf of the nursing home or any specific resident, he said.
When the DCFS representative was questioned, it was learned that she received a call from LaShondra Taylor, requesting a status on the SNAP benefit case, in which she stated she is the authorized representative of the nursing home patients. When the DCFS representative called the nursing home to verify the documents and learned that the resident was in continued nursing home care, the DCFS Investigator closed the case, the sheriff said.
When questioned by detectives, LaShondra Taylor admitted to altering a document from the nursing home in an effort to receive SNAP benefits on behalf of one of the patients. She also admitted to putting the name of the nursing home employee at the bottom of the letter, the sheriff said.
Further investigation revealed that LaShondra Taylor has been receiving SNAP benefits on behalf of the nursing home resident (her mother) during the last three years, the sheriff said.
On July 28, 2023 LaShondra Taylor was transported to the St. Landry Parish Jail and charged with unlawful production, manufacturing, distribution or possession of fraudulent documents for identification purposes and identity theft.
Additional charges will be added once the value of the SNAP Benefits that she received for three years are calculated.
