Prosecutors: Probation Officer Involved in Child Care Scam

A Los Angeles County probation officer charged with conspiracy, grand theft and perjury in an alleged $1.6 million child care fraud scheme appeared in court Friday, but his arraignment was postponed.

Redondo Beach resident Frank Elliott Boyd III, 48, went to court as law enforcement officers worked to round up some of the other five co-defendants in the case, including Boyd's 44-year-old ex-girlfriend. Though her name has not yet been disclosed, the ex-girlfriend is said to have masterminded the scam.

The group allegedly set up home-based licensed child care centers and recruited parents to apply for subsidies through the state Department of Education and county Department of Public Social Services using the name Crystal Stairs, Inc., but child care services were never provided, according to the District Attorney's Office.

In return for falsifying applications, employment verification forms and child care attendance documents, the parents allegedly received kickbacks from the defendants.

Boyd is being held in lieu of $420,000 bail and is now scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

If convicted, he faces more than 20 years in state prison.

The Probation Department, which has been dogged by employee misconduct, has already put Boyd on unpaid leave, according to Assistant Chief Probation Officer Don Meyer.

Boyd is just one of 38 probation employees arrested this year, Meyer said. Eleven of those arrests were for suspicion of drunken driving.

"It's an embarrassment to the organization," Meyer said, but added that "the process for screening employees has changed pretty dramatically.

"It's a new day here," Meyer said.

Of 500 candidates vetted for recent job openings, only 44 people made it through the department's "much more rigorous" screening, which includes a polygraph test in addition to background checks, according to the assistant chief. More measures, including an online test, are being added as the department looks to hire another 400 to 500 peace officers.

Seven probation employees resigned in 2013 after being arrested and five have been terminated because of criminal activity, according to department records.

Boyd's co-defendants Nikita Monique Harrell, 37, of Hawthorne, and Kevin Twain Williams, 49, of Inglewood, also are set for arraignment Monday.

Boyd's 44-year-old ex-girlfriend and some of the other co-defendants have yet to be arrested, but warrants have been issued, District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.

—City News Service.