A Greenwood day care owner is accused of bilking the government for almost a half-million dollars in child care vouchers.
Towanda Ware, the owner and operator of Bright Beginnings Daycare and Bright Beginnings Daycare II, has been charged with multiple counts of fraud for allegedly receiving more than $441,000 in vouchers from January 2017 to December 2019 for children who did not attend her day cares, according to a release issued Thursday by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
The release said that due to the substantial amount of overpayment and the evidence of alleged fraud during the investigation, the case was turned over to the Leflore County District Attorney’s Office to present to a grand jury, which returned the indictments.
Ware, 40, turned herself in through her attorney to the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department on July 14.
She was charged with eight counts of welfare fraud, six counts of government entity and two counts of false representation.
She is out on bond.
Ware could not be reached for comment Thursday.
“This investigation and ultimate prosecution demonstrates the controls we have in place to identify, investigate and eliminate fraud in our programs,” MDHS Executive Director Robert G. Anderson said in the release. “This is also a great example of cooperation between our investigations team and local law enforcement.”
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
