Former probation company worker gets probation for stealing

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - A southeast Missouri woman who pocketed money from people whose probation she supervised now finds herself on probation.

The Southeast Missourian reports that 45-year-old Candi Ayers, of Cape Girardeau, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation for felony stealing. The theft happened last year while she was working for a private probation company in Cape Girardeau called Private Correctional Services. Such companies are allowed to supervise low-level offenders in Missouri and collect probation fees directly from them.

Court documents say Ayers stole a combined $2,170 from 14 probation clients. An amended complaint identified the money as belonging to Private Correctional Services. Ayers has paid restitution to the company.

Prosecutors said Ayers could have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison and fined up to $10,000.

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Information from: Southeast Missourian, http://www.semissourian.com