The former director of the Senior Centers of Cherokee County surrendered to Gaffney police around 3:45 Monday to face one charge of embezzlement of public funds.
Joan Wood, who worked at the Centers since 1996, left the publicly-funded agency in September 2011 after being the director for three to four years, chief Rick Turner said.
When employees of the Centers were preparing documents for tax returns, they noticed some discrepancies and found money was missing, Turner said. The employees requested an investigation, and Turner said his detectives discovered Wood was writing checks to other people, but depositing the checks into her personal accounts.
Wood created false invoices for the agency's minor home repair program, but she was creating invoices for work that was never commissioned or completed, according to Shellie Wylie, who is the chairman of the centers' board of directors.
After creating the invoice, she would write a check to her family members and deposit them into her accounts, Turner said.
Wylie said the center has now implemented stronger policies for invoices including "separation of duties" and mandating that at least three staff members sign off on each invoice.
No one else is implicated in the embezzlement scheme, Turner said.
A judge set Wood's personal recognizance bond at $5,000.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement