A former administrator of a group home was charged yesterday with taking more than $300,000 intended for the home's residents, authorities said.
Angela Branson Boston, 52, of 930 E. Sprague St. was charged with felony common-law uttering and felony obtaining property by false pretense, an arrest warrant says.
Boston had worked as a program coordinator for American Human Services Inc. on Ardsley Street, which runs group homes for people with behavioral and emotional problems, said Aaron Green, the agency's director of adult services.
Boston is accused of forging special-assistance checks from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and cashing them without permission and obtaining money by false pretense from the state agency, the warrant says.
The money was intended to offset the cost of clients' care.
The offenses occurred from July 1, 2003, to May 30, 2009, the warrant says.
But police said that checks totaling more than $300,000 were cashed and converted for Boston's personal use over more than 10 years.
Boston worked for the company from October 1997 through May 2009.
Greer said that when the agency discovered the missing money in May, Boston and another woman resigned. Winston-Salem police continue to investigate.
The missing money affected the services that the agency provided to its clients, Greer said.
It was intended to pay for the room and board of its nine clients in Winston-Salem. The agency has 85 to 100 clients statewide.
"The agency still took care of the clients, but it didn't know it was supposed to receive that money," Greer said.
"It's a shame that people would take advantage of elderly and disabled people who can't speak for themselves."
Boston was being held yesterday in the Forsyth County Jail with her bond set at $300,000.
She is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 28.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
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