A former clerk with the Westchester Department of Social Services has admitted taking bribes from day care providers who sought her help expediting reimbursements for their programs.
Cheryl Spencer pleaded guilty in Westchester County Court on Wednesday, Oct. 14, to third-degree bribe receiving, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, after she was offered a deal that would let her avoid incarceration.
According to the Westchester District Attorney's Office, Spencer will be on interim probation. If she pays $8,485 in restitution within two years, the felony charge will be dismissed and she will be sentenced to three years probation. If she does not, she will be sentenced to five years probation for the felony, which had carried a possible
prison term of up to seven years.
Spencer was a senior audit clerk in DSS' daycare payment processing unit, responsible for confirming attendance records to verify how much daycare providers were supposed to receive. The county would pay the providers to cover expenses of eligible families.
When four day care providers in Mount Vernon and one in Yonkers told her in June 2024 they were not receiving payments Spencer told them they would have to pay her if they wanted their reimbursements promptly. From October 2024 to April 2025 they sent her monthly Zelle payments of $200.
She was arrested in early August 2025 and suspended without pay. A county spokeswoman said Friday, Oct. 16, that Spencer's employment ended two weeks later.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Plea deal for Westchester DSS clerk who took bribes from daycare providers
