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Shanell Angelia West, 46, of Essex, was sentenced to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to felony theft and insurance fraud, authorities announced on Wednesday.
West worked as a clerk at the Department of Labor for 18 months, where she stole funds from licensees by altering checks made payable to the state and depositing them into personal bank accounts, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.
Even after she was fired in 2022, West continued her scheme, forging checks she had obtained during her employment.
Adding to her crimes, West filed a fraudulent insurance claim in June 2023 for wages she allegedly lost due to a car accident.
She claimed to have missed work at the Department of Labor, but records revealed she had been terminated a year prior.
West pleaded guilty in October to theft scheme between $1,500 and $25,000 and insurance fraud.
Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Robert E. Cahill Jr. handed West a 15-year sentence, suspending all but 18 months of active jail time, with five years of probation to follow.
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