Montgomery, Alabama – A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an indictment charging Shatoubrioune Hare George, who is also known as “Tobie”, for conspiring to cash fraudulently obtained federal tax refund checks, the Department of Justice, United States Attorney George L. Beck, Jr., and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.  The 6-count indictment charges George with conspiracy to commit theft of public funds and with theft of public funds. 

According to the indictment, George and others obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks that were issued due to the filing of fraudulent tax returns.  George and others cashed seventy-seven fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks that totaled approximately $137,016.24 by bringing them to a bank teller who worked for a bank in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Alabama Department of Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees announced today that the Department has successfully prosecuted several Alabamians for unemployment compensation fraud. The following individuals were charged with violating the Alabama Unemployment Compensation Law by making false statements in claims for benefits:

Brodrick Leonard, of Alexander City, was tried in Tallapoosa County District Court on March 12, 2013. An investigation by Labor’s Benefit Payment Control Section determined that Leonard received a total of $4,693 in benefits to which he was not entitled.

Leonard pled guilty and was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended for two years, and 24 months of unsupervised probation. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of benefits received illegally.

Inger Richardson, of Alexander City, was tried in Tallapoosa County District Court on March 12, 2013.

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - A former youth minister from Wetumpka was sentenced to the maximum amount of years possible yesterday in Cullman County for first-degree sexual abuse of a child less than 12.

Officials say John A. Astorga, previously a youth minister for the Bethel Assembly of God in Wetumpka, was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse of a child who was less than 12 years old in December 2012 in Cullman County. Astorga was also convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in Elmore County back in April 2012.