MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A former daycare owner has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for committing childcare benefit fraud.
Ray Chism will serve the 27 months, followed by three years of supervised released, as well as pay $200,000 in restitution.
The multimillion-dollar fraud involved faking attendance records at a daycare center owned by his family to get extra government reimbursement.
Co-defendant Renita Little pleaded guilty to one of the charges in May and later received a sentence of 21 months, three years of supervised release and $120,000 in restitution.
Remark Chism, the ringleader of the scheme, was sentenced Oct. 28. He will serve 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and pay $2.8 million in restitution.
Co-defendants Erica Pitchford and Angelica Austin both pleaded guilty to one of the charges. Pitchford got three months of probation, including six months of home detention, and $200,000 in restitution. Austin has yet to be sentenced; she will appear in court Friday.
