Homeless in Arizona

Police: Ex-Phoenix shelter employee stole $24K from client

  Wonder if I know anybody like this???

It's an inside joke and you probably won't get it.

Source

Police: Ex-Phoenix shelter employee stole $24K from client

Sarah Anderson, The Republic | azcentral.com 7:07 p.m. MST January 11, 2016

A Tolleson man is accused of stealing more than $24,000 in Social Security benefits from at least one client of a homeless shelter where he had worked, according to police.

Sergio Francisco Solorzano, 42, was booked into jail Friday on suspicion of fraudulent schemes, theft and computer tampering that police say occurred from Jan. 3, 2013 to Oct. 1, 2015.

Solorzano was a program assistant for the Phoenix Rescue Mission at the time. He was terminated in November after having been employed there for a decade, according to Nicole Peña, a mission spokeswoman.

Solorzano is accused of stealing at least $24,485 in Social Security benefits from a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia, police allege in court documents. Solorzano reportedly helped the man obtain those benefits.

According to police records, the client never received any of these benefits, despite the fact that he had apparently been collecting on them for almost three years. The deception was not discovered by the client until he reunited in October 2015 with his family, who had been aware of the ATM cash withdrawals he was supposedly making, police records show.

Peña said the family alerted the mission to these discrepancies, beginning an internal investigation that was turned over to the police after Solorzano made contradictory statements. His last day at Phoenix Rescue Mission was Nov. 19, and no other victims have been verified by the mission nor has any additional investigation been conducted, Peña said.

"We are a homeless shelter but our main programmatic function is to get people off the streets and help them with drug addictions," she said. “We are cooperating fully with the investigation and are helping the family in any way we can.”

Bond was set at $3,500. Records indicate Solorzano is not a U.S. citizen, and police argued for no bond on concerns that he may flee to his home country of Guatemala if released.

Peña said Phoenix Rescue Mission was unaware of Solorzano's legal status until the police investigation. She said he had a working Social Security number.

 
Homeless in Arizona

stinking title