KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City day care owner was sentenced in federal court this week for her role in a conspiracy that resulted in a $653,329 tax loss to the federal government, as well as fraudulently collecting almost $120,000 in government benefits she was not entitled to receive, according to the United State's Attorney.
Patricia L. Johnson-Rushing, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to two years and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Johnson-Rushing to pay $772,861in restitution and to forfeit to the government $95,704.
On Sept. 7, 2023, Johnson-Rushing pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money, one count of benefits fraud, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Johnson-Rushing admitted that she fraudulently received $83,394 in public funding for her childcare center, Granny’s Pray & Play, located at 3714 E. 27th Street in Kansas City, Mo., and that she unlawfully received food stamps. Johnson-Rushing also admitted that she participated in a conspiracy to obstruct the collection of federal employment taxes by failing to pay over to the government $154,186 in federal income tax and FICA contributions collected from the paychecks of Granny’s Pray & Play employees. This was part of a total tax loss to the government, including the employer’s share of payroll taxes, of $653,329.