Tacoma Woman Sentenced to Probation and Home Confinement for Wire Fraud
A former Executive Director of the Washington Coalition of Crime Victim Advocates was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of home confinement for two counts of wire fraud.
Cody Benson, formerly of Olympia, Washington, was convicted in January following a six-day jury trial.
Benson was indicted in July 2021 for her scheme to falsely claim Washington State public grant funding for work that was never done.
According to records filed in the case, Benson submitted fraudulent invoices for reimbursement under the grant between 2015 and 2017. She submitted bills for training events that were never held or supplies that were never purchased.
Benson moved away to Italy in early 2016, yet repeatedly told representatives of the Attorney General’s Office that she was in Washington State doing various outreach and other work. Those representations were false.
By the end of the scheme, WCCVA had only two employees: Benson and her son. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office became concerned about WCCVA’s performance under the grant in early 2018 and began investigating.
Benson returned just over $50,000 to the state, but other funds were not recovered. The grant payments ceased, and WCCVA is defunct.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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