Lake County Sheriff’s Office donates hundreds of cans of baby formula to local women's organizations

PAINESVILLE, Ohio - Mothers and babies in northeast Ohio will have access to plenty of proper nourishment after one local sheriff's office donated hundreds of cans of baby formula to two women's organizations. 

On Wednesday, more than 500 cans of baby formula had been donated to local organizations that help mothers who cannot afford proper nourishment for their babies and young children.

According to a press release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, nearly 300 cans of Similac baby formula were delivered and donated Tuesday to Women, Infants and Children -- the Ohio Department of Health’s special supplemental nutrition program -- by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Daniel Dunlap met with WIC director Lauren Henderson in Painesville to donate 270 cans of the popular baby formula brand.

Dunlap had plans to deliver and donate 274 cans of Similac to Birthright on Wednesday. Birthright is an emergency pregnancy service located in Mentor.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office came into possession of the baby formula when the Lake County prosecutor released 544 cans of Similac powder baby formula before the expiration date. The cans, valued at more than $10,000, were seized as evidence in a criminal investigation.

In April of 2012, sheriff’s deputies responded to CVS Pharmacy, Save-a-Lot and Giant Eagle along Mentor Avenue in Painesville Township for a complaint that three individuals had used counterfeit coupons to purchase large quantities of Similac baby formula at each location. The group was eventually located in a red Chevy van in Giant Eagle’s parking lot.

Nimir Mohammed Raja, 33, of Cleveland; Kelly Jamar Geiger, 37 of Philadelphia; and Elizabeth Perez, 40, of Cleveland were arrested and charged for multiple offenses. Further investigation revealed the three suspects had used to counterfeit coupons to purchase large quantities of baby formula throughout northeast Ohio and other jurisdictions.