Investigations

On January 8, 2020, Jessica Childs of Litchfield, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Portland, Maine, to 13 months’ incarceration, 5 years’ supervised release, restitution of $43,072, and a $100 special assessment. She was charged via information on April 3, 2019, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud on April 23, 2019.

 

Childs was the former finance director at Women Unlimited, a now-defunct nonprofit organization located in Augusta, Maine. The investigation revealed that between 2010 and 2015, Childs used a credit card issued to Women Unlimited to make personal purchases and obtain cash advances without the organization’s knowledge or authorization. She also admitted that she used Women Unlimited funds to pay for the fraudulent credit card charges.

 

Women Unlimited provided on-the-job support services to the Maine Department of Transportation under a Federal-aid contract that included grant funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

 

DOT-OIG and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted this investigation with substantial assistance from FHWA.