WILLMAR -- Toni Braness, the executive director of the Pact 4 Families Collaborative, faces felony charges in connection with the alleged misuse of gift cards and gift certificates at the agency.
Court records also indicate the Braness has faced gambling losses of more than $32,000 in the past two years. Braness, 52, of Willmar faces three counts of theft by swindle. She is charged with using fraudulent applications for assistance to steal $2,650 from Jan. 1, 2005, through June 30, 2005; $5,500 from July 1, 2005, through Dec. 31, 2005; and $1,900 from Jan. 1, 2006, through June 30, 2006. Braness has received a summons to make her first appearance in court at 10:15 a.m. Monday.
According to a complaint filed in Kandiyohi County District Court, Braness allegedly falsified the applications to gain access to gift cards and certificates from a locked drawer in the Pact 4 office.
She was one of two people with a key to the drawer.
The complaint includes information from a number of social workers and financial workers in the counties served by Pact 4, a social service agency serving families and children dealing with mental health issues.
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From Jan. 1, 2005, through June 27, 2006, 24 of 31 applications for assistance from the organization's flexible fund were found to have false supporting documentation. The flexible fund is used to provide emergency funding for families unable to obtain assistance elsewhere.
Those interviewed said applications bearing their names were not in their handwriting and did not bear their signatures. In many cases, the families listed on the applications were not clients of the worker allegedly submitting the applications.
According to the complaint, Braness' approved all 24 of the fraudulent applications.
The complaint lists gambling records through May 31 of this year that indicate Braness spent more than $7,200 at Prairie's Edge Casino Resort near Granite Falls, and that she received a payout of more than $5,900, resulting in a $1,300 loss. In 2005, she spent $7,000 and received a payout of $6,300, for a loss of $700.
At Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel near Morton, records indicate that Braness spent $151,000 in 2005 and had a payout of $126,250, which resulted in a loss of nearly $24,800. In 2006, she spent more than $37,600 through June 22, and had a payout of $32,300, for a loss of $5,300.
The Pact 4 Executive Board voted last week to begin the process of firing Braness. She has been on medical leave since late July. The board will meet at 3:30 p.m. today to consider taking the next step in the process.
