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Paso Robles Woman Sentenced

Written by Kateri Wozny

Story Created: Nov 21, 2011 at 2:55 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 28, 2011 at 10:16 AM PDT

Riverside - A Paso Robles woman was sentenced Monday morning for forging signatures for before and after school programs in the Coachella Valley.

The Department of Justice says Jean Michele Cross, 60, was sentenced to six years in federal prison. She was also ordered to pay a $60,000 fine.

Cross was found guilty in June of mail fraud, forging a writing to obtain $35 million from the United States and making false statements. Cross had filed an application in March 2007 on behalf of the non-profit Indio Youth Task Force (IYTF). The application was for a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, a federally funded grant program for before and after-school programs that was authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

The California Department of Education awarded the five-year grant for $6.9 million annually and mailed a $3,455,370 check to IYTF in December 2007. In April 2008, after improprieties about the grant application process surfaced, IYTF returned the check.
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