by: Mike Miller
10/19/2019

It is not every day that the district attorney's office gets ripped off. In Louisiana, the DeSoto District Attorney's office has discovered thousands of dollars were stolen from coffers. Just how much?

The theft discovered earlier this year led to the arrest in February of longtime employee Melanie Barber. She is charged with monetary instrument abuse, malfeasance in office and filing or maintaining false public records. As reported in www.shreveporttimes.com.

The 32-year-old was arrested following a month-long investigation into misappropriated funds from accounts related to worthless check collections and pre-trial diversion fees.

Barber devised a scheme where she would accept money orders for payments of fees and penalties then sign and cash them at a local business.

It turns out that there was more than $100,000 in public funds missing with the theft occurring between 2009 and 2014, with about $35,000 stolen in 2013 alone.

The sad aspect is that this type of theft occurs all across the nation every single day. Do you think mandatory stop theft classes for all kids in public schools would help prevent many thieves from every stealing in the first place? Is more religious training in order to help people maintain a moral compass?

I respect and appreciate your input here at the stoptheftclass.com blog.