COURTHOUSE >> A Philadelphia man was sentenced to county jail and restitution on Thursday for stealing from mentally disabled people he was entrusted to protect.
Lamont Thomas, 43, of the 5200 block of North Broad Street, was sentenced to six to 23 months in Montgomery County Correctional Facility and five years of probation. He was also ordered to pay $80,581.52 in restitution and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service.
In March, Thomas pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by unlawful taking and two counts of forgery.
An investigation began on Aug. 28, 2014 when Lower Merion Township police were contacted by an investigator with Resources for Human Development, a nonprofit program that provides services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One of the programs run by Resources for Human Development is called New Foundations, which helps those with developmental and mental disabilities live independently. The arresting affidavit states New Foundations does not help clients with their finances.
The first victim had contacted New Foundations after trying to withdraw money from her bank account and seeing that she had only 37 cents available. The arresting affidavit noted the victim received $978 a month in Social Security and was charged only $182.50 in rent from New Foundations.
Investigators found that several checks from the first victim had been written to another client of New Foundations and to a company called Diamond Real Estate. Investigators noted the handwriting on the checks did not match the victim’s handwriting.
The second client from New Foundations told investigators that he received the checks from Thomas, an employee of New Foundations, and was told to deposit them in his bank account. He told police that he would cash the checks and give the money to Thomas.
Thomas worked as a client counselor for New Foundations. The arresting affidavit states it was his job to ensure that clients were able to live independently. He would make personal visits to clients’ apartments and had access to their personal property. It was not his job to handle finances.
Police also learned Thomas deposited a check written by the second victim. The second victim denied ever making out a check to Thomas. A debit card was also issued for the second victim’s account which records showed had been used.
Surveillance footage showed Thomas using the debit card at various locations. An audit of his bank account showed checks from both of the victims being deposited into his account.
