Omar Driver
Thursday, June 6, 2013 | 2:22 p.m.
A case worker for a Las Vegas charity was arrested earlier this week and charged with stealing money from one of the people in his care.
Omar Driver, 41, was arrested after officers investigated a man's claims of unauthorized withdrawals from a debit card in May. Driver was the man's case worker at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, and had access to the victim's debit card, police said.
According to the arrest report from Metro Police, the victim is homeless and has his mail sent to Catholic Charities, including the debit card that carries his Social Security payments. Driver was responsible for delivering his mail. The victim filed a complaint with police on May 6, reporting some unauthorized transactions in the amount of $600. The arrest report says that security footage from a Shell Gas Station, 905 Las Vegas Blvd. North, indicated Driver was seen making withdrawls that day with the card.
Driver was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Monday and faces counts of burglary, fraudulent use of a credit or debit card and possession of a credit or debit card without consent. He will have a preliminary hearing on Monday at 9 a.m.
According to a 2012 organizational newsletter, Driver was hired in 2010 and was promoted to case manager in 2012. Driver had reportedly lost his job, home and most of his possessions after losing a job in 2008, and had used the charity for assistance in the past.
Driver, who worked for the group's Resident Empowerment Program, said he was proud of the program's ability to turn the lives of homeless men around.
"In desperate times, it's easy to get wrapped up in the wrong crowd and be tempted to work the system," he was quoted as saying.
Police believe there may be additional victims, and ask anyone with information about the case to contact police at 828-3890 or contact Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.
