Westwego woman accused of taking thousands from co-workers in St. Rose

A Westwego woman was recently arrested after allegedly setting up a fraudulent “money challenge” program at her St. Rose employer.

Kenyetta Long, 37, of 42 Honeysuckle Drive, was arrested Dec. 5 and charged with theft of between $5,000 and $25,000. According to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, Long started the program with several of her co-workers where they would pay a sum of money into a fund each week from January to November.

The idea behind it was to build up a large lump sum of money as a payout for the holidays.

But after the challenge ended, Long failed to return her co-workers’ money, which was reported to police and led to her arrest.

Long is scheduled for a court hearing on Jan. 10. She is currently being held at Nelson Coleman Correctional Center.

That type of alleged crime can become more prevalent during the Christmas holidays. St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne recently gave a number of tips through a recent post on his Facebook page to help local residents avoid being cheated out of money or goods they have purchased.

Champagne noted those purchasing items online should be mindful of where and when the delivery is to take place, so that criminals aren’t able to take delivery packages left out in the open.

“If possible, request a signature upon delivery to ensure that the package isn’t just left sitting on your front door step,” Champagne advised. “Have the package delivered to your work instead of home if you know no one will be home.”Champagne added residents should consider having the package delivered to a neighbor or friend’s home, alternatively, if they will be away from home.

The Sheriff added that criminals are on the lookout for holiday cards containing gift cards or money being sent by mail and will often check mailboxes in order to steal them.

“Mostly, remember that criminals are smart,” Champagne said. “They will sit in a neighborhood looking for delivery trucks or postal trucks just so that they can follow behind it and pick up any packages left unattended.”