Ex-County Employee Sentenced for Embezzling

A former clerical worker accused of embezzling $700,000 from the Los Angeles County welfare system was sentenced to nearly seven years in state prison after pleading guilty to five felony counts, authorities said Monday.

Jennifer Castillo, 41, who was assigned to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services office in Canoga Park, also must pay $77,000 in restitution under the sentence handed down Friday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William A. Fahey.

“I was somewhat disappointed with the sentence, given Ms. Castillo’s early guilty plea and cooperation with investigators,” said her defense attorney Michael A. Goldstein. “However, considering the potential of almost 14 years in prison and the excessive monetary loss, things could have been far worse.”

Castillo actually faced a maximum of 13 years behind bars for charges that included embezzlement of public funds and falsification of documents, said Deputy Dist. Atty. John Allen of the Special Investigations Division. But she is likely to serve only three years of the sentence.

“That money is supposed to go to people who need it. And whether you’re illegally receiving the money or a county employee who is stealing it, you’re looking at state prison,” Allen said.

Castillo was arrested in June after a three-month joint investigation by the Department of Public Social Services and the district attorney’s office.

Castillo, a native of Belize, had been stealing government money since 1994, Allen said. Her scheme included creating false welfare case files and then forging her superiors’ signatures on documents.

Checks were then issued to Castillo as well as her family and friends, the prosector said. To date, nine other people have been charged with felonies in connection with the case.