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Shanell Angelia West, 45, of Essex, has been indicted after allegedly abusing her power while working as a clerk for the department, authorities announced.
According to the indictment, West was allegedly involved in a theft scheme, where she stole from state licensees.
It is alleged that West would keep or make copies of checks payable to the state, altered them, then deposited them into her own personal bank account, which she continued to do even after being terminated from the Department of Labor.
In her second scheme, prosecutors say that West filed a fraudulent insurance claim involving her former job with the department after filing for wages from the state she claimed to have lost following a car accident - despite not working for the state at that time.
West claimed that she missed more than two weeks of work in June and July last summer; however, she had been laid off by the Department of Labor in 2023.
To substantiate her claim, West allegedly submitted a document to her insurer, containing a forged signature of a former colleague, according to the AG.
West was charged with:
- Theft scheme with a value of between $1,500 and $25,000;
- Counterfeiting of private instruments and documents;
- Issuing of counterfeit private instruments and documents;
- Misconduct in office;
- Fraudulent insurance acts of $300 or more;
- Identity fraud of $1,500 or more;
- Forgery.
She is scheduled to have her cases heard in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
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