Missouri Woman Accused of Stealing $140,000 in Insurance Funds

A Missouri woman is accused of stealing a whole lot of money from state unemployment insurance funds in a crime that allegedly took place over several months back in 2020. This led to three felony charges being leveled against her.

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Insurance Journal just shared the story of Vicky Hefner, 63, of Jefferson County, Missouri. Their report says Vicky was first employed by Missouri’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Division of Employment Security as a benefit program specialist starting 13 years ago.

The charges allege that between July and December of 2020 she logged into several different accounts of friends and associates and adjusted their status to make them eligible for unemployment claims or made them eligible to receive more benefits.

The case claims that Vicky received payments from those her actions allegedly benefitted.

The Insurance Journal article says she "was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 28 on three charges of theft of public money". They also report that she pled not guilty to those charges. If convicted, Vicky Hefner could receive a sentence up to 10 years in jail and/or a $250,000 fine for each charge and have to repay the money she allegedly received.

The investigation was done by the Office of Inspector General at both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor.

A reminder that those accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty. You can find more details and updates in the Insurance Journal article.