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A former substance abuse education coordinator for the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing nearly $239,000 in funds earmarked for educational programs to fight underage drinking.

Steven Hammond Jr., 29, of Richmond, was earning $41,850 annually as Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project coordinator when he embezzled federal funds granted to ABC to deter underage drinking through enforcement efforts and educational programs and conferences.

Beginning in 2009, Hammond began diverting the funds by having the department write checks of less than $5,000 to various friends and acquaintances he claimed would operate an educational program. Hammond then arranged for those people to cash the checks and return the money to Hammond in exchange for a portion of the proceeds, according to a statement of facts filed in U.S. District Court.

Before the theft was discovered during an internal ABC audit in 2013, Hammond had siphoned off $238,600 through 77 fraudulent checks he directed ABC to create. In subsequent interviews with state and federal law enforcement officials, Hammond admitted to creating the false checks and receiving the majority of funds after they were cashed, according to the statement of facts.