Woman gets jail in scheme to steal COVID relief funds
Mary Ann Steed charged along with husband, former prison board member
NORRISTOWN >> An Upper Gwynedd Township woman faces periods of jail, house arrest and probation on charges she was involved in a fraud scheme with her husband, a former member of the Montgomery County Prison Board, to steal more than $94,000 in COVID emergency rental assistance funds.
Mary Ann Steed, 50, of the 1400 block of Oxford Circle, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to 7 to 23 months of supervision, the first 60 days of which must be spent in the county jail, with the remainder of the sentence to be served under house arrest.
Judge Thomas M. DelRicci said Steed must report to the jail in Lower Providence on April 19 to begin serving the stint behind bars.
DelRicci also ordered Steed to complete three years’ probation, consecutive to parole, meaning Steed will be under court supervision for about five years.
Steed, who was supported in court by her son, previously pleaded guilty to felony charges of dealing in proceeds of illegal acts, theft by deception, forgery and conspiracy to dealing in unlawful proceeds in connection with incidents that occurred between April and September 2021.
In fashioning the sentence, DelRicci said he recognized the severity of the theft-related offenses. Prosecutors alleged there were county residents who could have used the COVID relief funds for legitimate purposes and instead Steed and her husband, Vernon, took part in a scheme to steal the funds for their financial gain. Mary Ann Steed indicated in court that some of the funds were used to pay her credit card debt.
“We want to recognize the fact that this is not a victimless crime. There were people that were hurt here,” DelRicci said.
Before learning her fate, Steed apologized for her conduct.
“When you know better, you’re supposed to do better. And I do know better. I sincerely apologize. I morally regret what I have done. My selfishness has brought shame like I never felt,” Steed tearfully addressed the judge, who indicated he found her remorse to be genuine.
The judge ordered Steed to pay $94,875 in restitution to the county.
Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull argued for some jail time for Steed.
“They took these funds that were meant for people in need of housing assistance and misappropriated it, exploiting this program for their own financial gain,” Kull alleged. “It took away from other people in the county who were in need of financial COVID assistance.”
Defense lawyer Andrew Joseph Levin sought a mitigated sentence for Steed, arguing she had no prior record, had accepted responsibility for her role in the scheme and has already paid back $12,000 of the restitution, despite having limited income while currently working as a home health aide. The judge’s sentence was in the mitigated range of state sentencing guidelines.
“She has accepted responsibility, which is very important in saving court resources. She paid back the $12,000 before sentencing and she’s hoping to continue to make restitution,” Levin said.
Steed’s husband, Vernon, 56, who previously spent 32 years in prison for his role in a Philadelphia homicide as a juvenile before being paroled and who later was a member of the Montgomery County Prison Board of Inspectors, is still awaiting trial on similar theft-related charges in connection with the COVID fraud scheme.
Vernon Steed remains free on $97,077 bail he posted through a bonding company while awaiting trial.
With the charges against Vernon Steed, county detectives alleged he submitted fraudulent claims, using the identities of others, including that of his wife’s dead sister, and forged documents to apply for rental assistance under the pretext that the applicants were not only residing in the listed rental properties but also were in arrears with their rent payments.
Prosecutors previously said they would not call Mary Ann Steed as a witness in their case against her husband.
During the pandemic, Your Way Home, as the Montgomery County oversight agency for COVID relief funds, was responsible for dispersing relief funds to various county social service agencies that received and reviewed assistance applications for tenants facing eviction due to COVID-related financial hardship. The funds, once approved, were provided to listed landlords of the properties for tenants who were unable to pay rent due to COVID-19.
Detectives said providers of the funds within Montgomery County increased their vigilance in reviewing applications submitted for consideration. Your Way Home officials provided documentation to county detectives regarding payments that were issued in the name of Vernon Steed’s deceased sister-in-law as “landlord,” according to court documents.
One man whose identity was fraudulently used by Vernon Steed on a rental assistance application for a property on North Evans Street in Pottstown told detectives he was unaware of the application and that Steed previously had paid him $800 for his personal identification information and told him to “keep it quiet,” according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective James Reape. A total of $12,800 was paid in relation to that rental assistance application.
Several of the people whose identities allegedly were used by Vernon Steed to file the fraudulent claims met Steed through ministry efforts he conducted, including at a recovery house in Pottstown where he provided mentorship and motivational speeches as a forensic advocate for Hopeworx Inc., after his release from prison in 2018, according to court papers.
“The scheme was to target vulnerable recovering addicts. They would take their identities and complete these fraudulent applications for COVID assistance relief. The scheme took advantage of vulnerable people,” Kull alleged.
Reape testified the victims whose identities were fraudulently used had concerns about retaliation.
“They were placed under great stress from being involved unknowingly in this investigation,” Reape told the judge.
Court documents list fraudulent rental assistance applications that were filed for properties in Pottstown, Lower Providence, Souderton and Collegeville.
Detectives alleged the fraud scheme netted a total theft of $94,875.
Detectives alleged the monies from the fraudulent applications were deposited into a bank account opened in the name of Vernon Steed’s deceased sister-in-law and investigators obtained bank surveillance footage that depicted Steed and his wife making deposits and withdrawals from that account.
When detectives confronted Steed with the allegations during an audio recorded interview on April 11 and showed him photographs from the bank surveillance he allegedly asked detectives to pause the audio recording so he could speak off the record, according to the arrest affidavit.
“During the period when the recording was paused, Steed asked about the possibility of just paying back the money to avoid arrest while still claiming he knew nothing of the fraudulent applications or money,” Reape alleged in the criminal complaint. “Steed went on to claim there are people who want to see him fail and go back to jail.”
When detectives advised Steed that the evidence revealed he and his wife were involved in the fraud scheme, and that others who had their personal information used on the applications confirmed they gave the information to Steed and that Steed paid them money or gift cards for the use of their personal information, “Steed did not wish to continue the audio statement any longer,” according to court documents.
According to court records, in July 1988, Vernon Steed and a co-defendant were convicted of first-degree murder in connection with a Sept. 8, 1985, fatal shooting of a woman, an innocent bystander, during an incident in Philadelphia. Steed was 17 at the time and was sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment.
However, Steed later appealed his life sentence in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juveniles.
Steed successfully argued his life sentence was illegal and he was granted a re-sentencing hearing after which he was sentenced to 31 years to life, given credit for time served, and set free on parole in 2018, according to court records.
In June 2022, Steed was appointed to a volunteer post on the county Prison Board of Inspectors by former county commissioners Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr., both Democrats, for a term to expire June 2, 2025. Former Republican Commissioner Joseph Gale opposed Steed’s appointment.
Steed resigned from the prison board effective April 21, 2023.
Court records indicate the theft charges were lodged against Steed on April 24.