SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The U.S. government is alleging in a lawsuit that Utah criminal justice officials misused grant funds that were part of stimulus programs during the Great Recession to bolster state coffers rather than to hire new employees.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit Friday in a case that began when a prison inmate stumbled upon documents that showed the federal grant money was being used to pay prison guards. Federal prosecutors took over the lawsuit after prisoner Reginald Williams’ complaint became public in February.
The alleged misuse of the funds occurred from June 2009 through May 2013 and was directly against stated rules of the gran program, the lawsuit alleges.
Richard Piatt, a spokesman for the Utah Attorney General’s Office, said the state plans to carry-out a “vigorous defense” of the nearly 20 public officials named in the lawsuit. The activity occurred before Attorney General Sean Reyes was appointed to the position in December 2013, Piatt noted.
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