A former homeless center employee in San Diego has been sentenced to one year and three months in prison this week for stealing over $70,000 in checks meant for the homeless, City News Service reported Feb. 9.

“This crime victimized dozens of individuals, many of whom may not know that they had their checks stolen,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman last summer in a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release in July 2023.

According to the press release, Charisse Elaine Alexander, 55, of San Diego, stole 66 checks meant for 56 people, most of whom were homeless adults who were staying at the San Diego (Neil Good) Day Center for Homeless Adults, where she was working.

The checks were from organizations such as the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, and the State of California.

Ms. Alexander had pleaded guilty to stealing the checks in July 2023. She informed the court that she stole them from the center’s mailroom, and, together with her former boyfriend, forged the signatures and cashed them to their bank account to then withdraw the money from an ATM.

Ms. Alexander also agreed to pay $73,446.43 in restitution for the money stolen from the victims, according to the press release.