Probation assessed in benefits case

A Jefferson City woman accused of stealing unemployment benefits from the state was placed on five years supervised probation for pleading guilty to one count of felony stealing.

Somonia Westbrooks, 43, admitted to stealing benefits, totalling between $500 and $25,000, from November 2010 to September 2011.

She told officials with the Missouri Division of Employment Security that she was unemployed when in fact she was employed and earning wages.

Because this was a suppressed indictment, a probable cause statement from authorities about their investigation was not publicly available.