Bank Worker Discovers Embezzlement At Dshs

A tip from a bank worker resulted in the detection of an embezzler in the Department of Social and Health Services and an overhaul of how some payments are handled, state officials say.

A report released by the state auditor’s office said Derinda Owen, a Key Bank fraud investigator in Tacoma, got a call Jan. 9 from a branch bank employee who was suspicious about checks deposited by Judith Williams, 44, a human resource assistant in the Seattle office of the department’s Division of Developmental Disabilities.

“The employee figured they were a little too large to be a paycheck,” Owen said Wednesday.

She notified the department’s Office of Accounting Services.

An investigation showed Williams, who had worked for the agency for six years and made about $28,000 a year, deposited six state checks into her bank account between Nov. 22 and Dec. 21.

“She entered fictitious payment transactions and then made the checks payable to herself,” said Joan Neff, assistant state audit manager.

A couple weeks after Owen’s call, Williams was arrested, pleaded guilty to first-degree theft and was sentenced to 14 months in prison plus repayment of $80,360.72 to the state.