POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Winter Haven social worker has been arrested and accused of falsifying records, grand theft and official misconduct.
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)'s Office of the Inspector General first contacted law enforcement about inconsistencies in Robinson Ruben Cancel's reports.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement claims Cancel, 59, falsely claimed to have visited at least four clients assigned to him while he was a field support worker between November 2015 and September 2017. FDLE claims Cancel knowingly falsified at least 125 records, including visitation logs.
"He also falsified numerous travel logs, which netted him $800," FDLE said.
Cancel was booked into the Polk County Jail on a $6,000 bond. According to law enforcement, he worked for Healthy Families Polk County, a subcontractor with the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Inc. and DCF.
Editor's Note: 10Investigates has extensively covered how local child and family investigations are handled, as part of our separate investigation into the death of Largo 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau Jr. 10Investigates exposed how warning signs were missed in that separate case and how policies were not followed by case managers and others in the months leading up to his death. You can read more about that investigation by clicking or tapping here.
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