Raibley Pleads Guilty
INDIANAPOLIS--A former high-ranking official in the state Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) this morning pled guilty in three separate schemes which resulted in the theft of more than $700,000 from the State of Indiana.
Matthew Raibley filed guilty pleas to one count from each of three pending cases: corrupt business influence, conspiracy to commit theft and forgery. All other remaining counts against him would be dismissed. As part of a plea agreement, Raibley would cooperate with the Prosecutor's Office in the cases against all of his co-defendants. Sentencing would be open to argument, with any total sentence not to exceed eight years. He would pay restitution of $16,500, which is the amount he personally profited from the schemes. Sentencing was set for May 27.
"Raibley misused the position of trust in which he was placed," said Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi. "Had he paid as much attention to his job as he did to his schemes, unemployment in Indiana might be substantially lower right now."
A Marion County Special Grand Jury indicted Raibley, the former Director of the Indiana Manpower and Comprehensive Training Program IMPACT), and others in three separate schemes:
The first indictment charged Raibley acted with three officers of Tower, L. L. C., an employment training provider, in a fake job training program, which bilked FSSA out of nearly $500,000. The three men, Kevin Hightower, William Gutierrez and Luis Terrazas, are scheduled to go to trial May 23.
The grand jury then issued a second indictment against Raibley. A co-defendant, Barbara Wylie, allegedly submitted two requests for payments, totaling more than $70,000, for a training curriculum she claimed to have developed for IMPACT. However, she never provided the curriculum. The grand jury charged with Raibley authorized the state to pay Wylie, though he knew that she never provided those services. Wylie's trial is scheduled for May 9.
The third indictment charged with Raibley forged claim vouchers and invoices in order to pay Covansys Corporation, an information technology company, prior to the execution of a former contract with the State of Indiana. Covansys provided FSSA with hardware and software before formal execution of the contract. the company acknowledged violations of the purchasing rules, policies and regulations of the State Department of Administration. It has reimbursed the State of Indiana more than $200,000, or more than double the profit made by the corporation through those violations.
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