Authorities say Allen Mitchell embezzled nearly $70,000 from more than a dozen disabled residents while he was entrusted with managing their money.

Officials say there are at least 14 victims — all clients of the Daybreak Group Home and Community Services, a privately owned company that provides home and community-based services, according to court documents.

State investigators on Friday morning obtained an arrest warrant for Mitchell, charging him with 14 felony counts of exploiting the disabled in connection with the five-year embezzlement scheme.

Mitchell, 39, was employed as a case manager for the privately owned Daybreak between April 2004 and June 2009.

He was responsible for maintaining detailed records of all deposits and expenditures of consumers.

Officials say there are plans to reimburse the victims, though details were unavailable Friday because the company didn’t return messages for comment.

“From our understanding, they have agreed to reimburse all the individuals,” said Allison Lowery, spokeswoman for the Department of Aging and Disability Services, which is responsible for certifying group homes, but does not operate nor own Daybreak.

Mitchell on Friday afternoon said he didn’t want to talk about the charges against him before speaking with his attorney.

He declined to give his attorney’s name during a brief phone conversation.

According to investigators, Mitchell has refused to talk with them, but he did submit a letter to them claiming Daybreak was retaliating against him, court documents show.

Authorities accuse Mitchell of using the residents’ trust fund money for personal use by keeping the cash himself and depositing consumer’s paychecks and other funds into his own bank account, according to reports by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Lowery said the Daybreak residents were receiving state funds because of their disabilities.

Authorities in their reports wrote that many of the working Daybreak consumers weren’t aware they were being paid for their labor, according to court documents. Mitchell also opened four bank accounts under some of the consumers’ names, the documents said.

During the five-year period Mitchell was employed with Daybreak, a total of $89,511.07 was earned by or spent for 17 consumers.

Authorities say Mitchell misappropriated $68,046.80, according to court documents.

The Attorney General’s Office conducted a more than yearlong investigation into Mitchell, though details about what prompted the investigation weren’t released.

The bail attached to Mitchell’s arrest warrant was $25,000.

Daybreak is privately owned, but it is contracted by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services to provide home and community-based services, Texas Home Living Services, and Deaf-Blind/Multiple Disabilities services.

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