General News: Ex-Teacher Charged With Unemployment Fraud
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| Daniella Jones |
June 02, 2008
Daniella Raquel Jones, the teacher fired by the Cornwall school district in January, faces felony charges in the city of Newburgh after she allegedly collected unemployment compensation while employed at another job.
State police senior investigator Neil Moscato said that Jones was charged with grand larceny and 15 counts of offering a false instrument of filing, all felonies. He said that Jones, age 28, collected more than $5,000 in unemployment benefits during a three-month period. Details of when the three-month period occurred have not been released.
Jones was fired by the Cornwall Central School District after she touched a student on the face when he blew gum bubbles in class. The student, Joseph Strickland, later charged Jones with second-degree harassment stemming from the incident. Many students rallied to support her, saying her dismissal was unfair.
In a bench trial in May, Jones was acquitted of the harassment charge after the prosecution failed to prove that she intended to harass or alarm Strickland. Eyewitness testimony differed on whether Jones had slapped or tapped his face but four students testified that her goal was to discipline him.
Jones faces a June 9 court hearing on the felony charges.
Comments:
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I wonder what motivated them to investigate her. I hope this is not some witch hunt to get even by the Orange County District Attorney's office. I guess we will only really know once all the facts come out.
posted by [email protected] on 06/02/08 at 2:51 PM
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