KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The owner of a Kansas City day care center was sentenced to federal prison for fraudulently receiving more than $556,000 in benefits.
Forty-one-year-old Sharif Karie, of Olathe, Kansas, was sentenced Thursday to four years and 10 months without parole. He was convicted in January of nearly 30 counts, including participating in a conspiracy to steal government property.
Prosecutors say Karie, a naturalized citizen from Somalia, fraudulently established KARIE Day Care Center and Tima Child Care Center at the same location. Court documents say Tima Child Care Center was established to avoid state oversight. The businesses submitted claims to the state containing more hours and untrue numbers of children who attended the center.
The center's director, 48-year-old Sheri Beamon, Kansas City, will be sentenced next week for her role in the conspiracy.
