An employee of a south Phoenix social-services agency was arrested Monday on charges of embezzling nearly $200,000 in government checks intended to fund parenting programs.

Rosalie Magana was indicted on three counts of theft and one count of fraud after authorities say she stole the checks from Friendly House in December 2006 and January 2007.

Two other women were arrested and sentenced in 2007 for depositing the checks in a credit union, but investigators were unable to link the thefts to Magana until last week.

Friendly House is a 90-year-old social-services agency in south Phoenix. It offers a range of programs, including job training, adult education, family counseling, immigration-law assistance, elder care, a charter school and a food bank.

Magana, 60, has worked in the finance department for six years, according to agency CEO Luis Ibarra. She also picked up the mail.

Three checks totaling $198,000 from the Arizona Department of Economic Security went missing in early 2007.

Magana was indicted last week. Postal inspectors arrested her at Friendly House on Monday. Bond was set at $5,000.

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“The worst part is that the victim is a social-services agency trying to help people in need,” said Assistant Arizona Attorney General Andrei Cherny.

Source – Azentral