Couple accused of stealing money meant for poor surrender to authorities

A Clark County welfare worker and her husband charged with stealing more than $91,000 in financial assistance for the poor surrendered to authorities on Wednesday morning.

Melanie Lynn Cholewinski and Michael Wayne Brown, both 36, were booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

A 20-count felony complaint alleges Cholewinski used her job with the County Social Service Department to funnel $91,235 in checks to her husband between October 2008 and March 31.

The money came from a taxpayer-financed fund to help the disadvantaged pay for housing, county officials said Monday.

Both Cholewinski, who has since been fired from her $36,400-a-year job, and Brown are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft and 18 counts of theft. Cholewinski also is charged with one count of unlawful acts with computers.

According to the complaint, Cholewinski created seven phony financial assistance accounts in her husband's name and was able to regularly obtain county checks for him to cash over the 17-month period

She entered false personal information into the Social Service Department's computer system in each case and did not support the seven cases with proper financial documentation, police allege. Cholewinski, who was hired in September 2007, was responsible for determining whether people qualified for financial assistance from the county, police said. Her job included meeting with clients and, if they qualified, creating a case file with specific financial information required to meet that eligibility for assistance.