The former director of a Mecklenburg County-run charity that provided gifts for needy children pleaded guilty this morning to embezzling taxpayer money, including using $30,000 to pay off personal credit card debt.
Cindy E. Brady, who resigned from the county last August, is charged with taking government money from 2007 to 2009. At the time, she oversaw the Giving Tree charity program run by the county’s Department of Social Services, which primarily gave Christmas gifts to needy children.
The program relied heavily on donations from the community.
Brady received thousands of dollars in advances from the county to buy gifts for the program. But the government said Brady instead converted money to her own personal use, and alleged she altered or created dozens of fictitious receipts to conceal the embezzlement.
Read the complete story at charlotteobserver.com