A Frankfort woman has been indicted for defrauding the very department she once worked for.

34-year-old Stephanie Newton is accused of collecting thousands in Medicaid benefits and Food Stamps while she worked 12 different jobs, including a couple of state jobs – one of them in the state office of Medicaid Services.

“She’s looking at owing the state about $20,000,” said Emily Wilkey, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney.

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

According to her indictment, between 2009 and May of 2013, Newton made false statements about her income and received more than $11,000 in Food Stamps and nearly $10,000 in Medicaid benefits.

“What she did was criminal because a lot of people receive benefits and report accurately; they get enough to get by,” Wilkey said.

Prosecutors say it was only when Newton left one state job to the Medicaid job did she finally report her proper income.

“My guess is when she switched to Medicaid Services she realized they could verify whether or not she was employed, and she changed her tactics,” Wilkey said.

Because this is Newton’s first criminal offense of record, there’s a good chance she can, if convicted, rid the felony from her history if she stays out of trouble and pays back the money.

“Her getting over benefits might have prevented somebody else from getting benefits they needed,” said Wilkey.

Marilyn Clark was last seen after she helped drop her mother off at St. Vincent Hospital at about 7:00 p.m. Thursday. She was reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office by family members at about 11:45 p.m.

Marilyn Clark is 74 years old, she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and is described as:
* 5’8″ tall
* 180 pounds
* Gray hair
* Blue eyes
* Wearing blue jeans, red shirt, jean jacket, glasses, and carrying a black purse

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

Clark accidentally took her mother’s purse and identification when she left the hospital. Her mother’s name is Lavelle Schmalle born in 1918. It was reported that Clark is easily confused.

Washington County Search and Rescue is assisting Sheriff’s Deputies search for  Clark. It is believed she got onto a bus possibly headed toward SE Portland but she could be anywhere in the Portland metropolitan area. She has been entered into law enforcement data bases as a Missing Person Endangered.

Anyone who locates Ms. Clark or has any information of her whereabouts is asked to please call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 503-629-0111.

Lexington Police have arrested an Ohio murder suspect Thursday morning.

Officials say Phillip Coleman, III was arrested in Lexington Thursday around 9:30 a.m. at a Greyhound bus station.

http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html

Coleman is accused of shooting and killing 24-year-old Deandrew Jackson, who was found dead March 21 in Hamilton, a city just north of Cincinnati.

Lexington Police said they had tips that the suspect could be coming into town from Atlanta.

An Erie couple who twice reported the theft of most of their belongings in a pair of burglaries at their eastside residence over the summer are accused by city police of making up the crimes in an effort to get cash from their insurance company.

Michael E. Whitcomb, 23, and Elizabeth A. Whitcomb, 24, face charges of making false reports to police, criminal conspiracy, and two counts each of insurance fraud and theft by deception. They are accused of falsely reporting burglaries in the 800 block of East 23rd Street on June 7 and July 5 and seeking nearly $40,000 in insurance payouts, according to case documents filed by Erie police Lt. Dan Spizarny, an insurance fraud investigator.

http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html

Police say the Whitcombs received $13,458.32 from their insurance company after reporting that items including dressers, night stands, beds and electronics were stolen June 7. The items were reportedly taken from the basement, and there was no sign of forced entry, Spizarny wrote in the affidavit of probable cause that accompanied the criminal complaints.

On July 5, the Whitcombs told police “everything” was taken from their home in another burglary. The stolen items included couches, dressers, file cabinets, a porch swing, a dining room set, 30 pairs of shoes, 15 coats, dish sets and a foot spa, according to the affidavit.

The Whitcombs submitted a claim for $26,270. Less than two weeks before the reported burglary, they changed their insurance policy limit from $15,000 to $30,000, Spizarny wrote in the affidavit.

Police said the Whitcombs’ insurance company asked for proof of the loss, and the couple submitted three online orders. The insurance company and Spizarny contacted the online stores, and they learned that the orders were canceled and items were never shipped, according to the affidavit.

Spizarny said an investigator for the insurance company spoke to the Whitcombs’ landlord, who told the investigator that she had gone to the Whitcombs’ new home in Erie and spotted the porch swing that was reported stolen July 5. The investigator also learned that the Whitcombs were given the keys to their new home a week before the second burglary, the affidavit said.

The Whitcombs had said their property lost in that burglary was boxed up to move, but they didn’t have a new place to move into at the time, Spizarny said.

Spizarny said he also went to their new residence on March 3 and saw many items inside that had been reported stolen.

The Whitcombs were arraigned by Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Tom Carney on Tuesday and were released on $1,000 unsecured bond apiece. Their preliminary hearings are April 4.

Foul play is suspected in a Jacksonville missing person case.

Randal Roberson, 28, was reported missing Jan. 21 when he failed to show up to a meeting in New Summerfield, said Jacksonville Police Department detective James Oden.

Roberson’s vehicle was found abandoned two days later on County Road 4223, north of New Summerfield, Oden said.

Roberson has not been found, and police suspect foul play.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

“We have no reason to believe he’s alive,” Oden said. “(There’s been) no activity on his cell phone, nothing active on any if his stuff, and he has made no contact with any of his family members. Everyone we talked to said that is not normal for him. He hasn’t showed up to his job, and his vehicle was abandoned.”

Searches on foot and via helicopter have yet to turn up traces of Roberson.

Oden said the disappearance and possible death is believed to be drug-related, and police are exploring leads on the case generated through social media. Some of the information is second-hand, and one requires tracking down hard to find people, he said.

“We do have some good leads and do anticipate making substantial progress in the future,” he said.

Anyone with information on Roberson’s disappearance or death is asked to call the police department at 903-586-2546 and speak with Oden.

The Lake Havasu City Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a local missing man.

Odessa Police need your help locating a missing person.

Officials are looking for 61-year-old William Payton.

We’re told that Payton has not been seen by members of his community since early January.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

Payton is known to be a recovering alcoholic and has high blood pressure.

Police say he is also known to associate with transients in the area and would let them live with him.

If you have any information on Payton’s whereabouts, you’re asked to contact Det. Patrick Chadwick at (432) 634-7952.

12 people were arrested in an early morning drug round up in Pendleton County Wednesday.

The roundup was the result of a lengthy investigation by State Police and the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office. Indictments in the investigation were issued by the Pendleton County Grand Jury on March 12.

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12 people were arrested on those indictments, and four other were arrested on an unrelated warrants and another man was arrested for trafficking in controlled substance (heroin) first offense.

Arrested were:

Stephen T Ayres – Arson in the First Degree, Wanton Endangerment in the First Degree and Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree.
Ryan Bobb Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – Second or Subsequent Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams)
Robert English Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – First Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams)
Nathan Goins Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine) in the First Degree – First Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams)
Jamie Moneyhon Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – Second or Subsequent Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams) (5 Counts)
Raymon Thomas Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – Second or Subsequent Offense (Two (2) Grams or More) (4 Counts) and Persistent Felony Offender in the First Degree.
Andrew Wright Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – Second or Subsequent Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams) (3 Counts)
Mandy Cawthrone Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – First Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams) (3 Counts)
Kathy Dawson Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – Second or Subsequent Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams)
Paul Michael Manning Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine) in the First Degree – Second or Subsequent Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams) and Persistent Felony Offender in the First Degree
Melissa Moneyhon Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – First Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams) (2 Counts)
Roger Tucker Trafficking in a Controlled Substance (Heroin) in the First Degree – First Offense (Less than Two (2) Grams)

All are being held in the Boone County Detention Center.

The Kentucky State Police in Dry Ridge along with The Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office, Falmouth Police Department and the Butler Police conducted the roundup.