Updated: Massena location moved to City Park due to road construction!

Atlantic, Massena, and Anita are all hosting mobile food pantries in October. These will be the last mobile food pantry distributions for 2023. A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. Both Atlantic and Massena will be distributing the same food products. If supplies run low in Massena, families will be directed to Atlantic. Please note- the location for the Massena distribution has been moved to the Massena City Park due to road construction!  Full details about the October Mobile Pantries are listed below:

Atlantic Mobile Food Pantry- Wednesday, October 11

Time: 4-6 p.m.

Location: Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10^th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)- enter from 10^th street near the tennis courts and follow signs

 Massena Mobile Food Pantry- Wednesday, October 11

Where: Updated Location!! Due to construction on Clarke Avenue the Mobile Food Pantry will be distributing boxes in the Massena City Park!

Time: 4:30-5:00 p.m.

 Anita Mobile Food Pantry- Wednesday, October 18

Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut Street, Anita IA 50020)

Time: 4:00-6:00 PM

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in Anita and Atlantic, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For the latest information on Massena pantries, call (712) 779-3447. For information on upcoming events and local food, farmers markets, and food access activities, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

Des Moines, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on September 29, 2023, Thein Maung, 47, of Ottumwa, was sentenced to twelve years in prison after pleading guilty to forty-nine fraud- and tax-related charges. Phyo Mi, 21, of Ottumwa, was sentenced to nine years in prison after a jury convicted her of sixteen fraud-related charges. In all, Maung and Mi’s fraud resulted in nearly $4 million in losses to the Internal Revenue Service, Iowa Workforce Development, and numerous Iowa citizens.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at trial, for several years, Maung and Mi ran a fraudulent tax-preparation business out of their family’s Ottumwa home. In exchange for a cash fee, Maung and Mi would prepare and file their customers’ tax returns. Maung and Mi primarily catered to immigrants and refugees who worked at meat-packing facilities in Iowa and who had little or no ability to read, write, or speak English.

Without their customers’ knowledge or approval, Maung and Mi included fraudulent items on their customers’ federal tax returns, like false claims for residential energy credits, business-expense deductions, or moving-expense deductions for members of the United States Armed Forces. The effect of Maung and Mi including fraudulent items on the tax documents was to increase the refunds their clients received and increase Maung and Mi’s customer base. In all, from 2018 to 2022, Maung and Mi caused over 1600 tax returns to be filed from their residence. Those returns claimed over $3.5 million in fraudulent residential energy credits.

It is estimated that from 2018 to 2022, Maung and Mi received over $200,000 in cash fees from their customers. In addition, on their customers’ returns, Maung and Mi sometimes directed that portions of the fraudulent refunds be sent to financial institution accounts accessible to Maung and Mi. As a result, Maung and Mi obtained nearly $50,000 in fraudulent tax refunds. Maung and Mi also offered to help customers with applying for unemployment benefits from Iowa Workforce Development. Without their customers’ knowledge or approval, Maung and Mi submitted materials to Iowa Workforce Development directing that their customers’ benefits payments be sent to financial institution accounts that Maung and Mi had access to. Maung and Mi obtained nearly $70,000 in fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits payments be sent from Iowa Workforce Development to their accounts, instead of to eligible claimants.

At sentencing, Chief United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose described Maung and Mi’s fraud as being elaborate and extensive, involving layers of subterfuge, and victimizing hundreds of vulnerable immigrants and refugees with little education and limited English fluency. Following their prison terms, Maung and Mi will be on supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.

“This sentence should send a strong message to any return preparers who are looking to cheat innocent taxpayers and the U.S. government that a prison cell awaits them,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock, IRS Criminal Investigation (CI), St. Louis Field Office. “Maung and Mi preyed on people who were vulnerable. CI special agents do not take this kind of fraud lightly. Our law enforcement partners worked diligently to help us bring these two to justice.”

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Ottumwa Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Essley and Laura Roan prosecuted the case.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report two recent arrests. On Sunday (Oct. 1), 56-year-old Joseph Sawyer, of Glenwood, was arrested for Assault on a Peace Officer, Interference with Official Acts, False Report (911 call), and Public Intoxication. Sawyer posted a $2,900 surety bond, and was released from custody. And, on Sept. 29th, 34-year-old Ashley Flint, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant. She posted a $300 cash-0nly bond before being released.

(Radio Iowa) – All of Iowa’s U-S Representatives and both U-S Senators voted for the funding deal to keep the federal government running. The government would have shut down at midnight Saturday without the deal. The funding bill keeps the government funded at current levels for roughly 45 days.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – Guthrie County Deputy Sheriff/Jail Administrator Jesse Swensen, today (Monday), released data on inmates housed at the Guthrie County Jail during the month of September. Swensen says they “processed 88 inmates through the facility with an average population of 29.”Billing invoices to other entities, including the Department of Corrections, and three counties (Greene, Polk and Webster) for holding of their inmates amounted to $45,660. Polk County had the greatest number of inmates (29) held in the Guthrie County Jail last month, at a cost of $23,460.

Guthrie County Jail

(Bedford, Iowa) – The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office is asking for your help in locating and apprehending 30-year-old Ely Laramie Will. He’s wanted on multiple warrants throughout the state of Iowa for theft and violations of his probation. Will is a white male, 5-feet 10 inches tall, and weighs about 230-pounds. He was last known to be in the Lenox, Clearfield and Creston areas.

Do not attempt to apprehend or detain Will. Call the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office at 712-523-2153, your local law enforcement agency, or 9-1-1 if you see him.

*All persons charged with a crime are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.