Topeka ? Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Rob Siedlecki has hired a new staff attorney to lead fraud investigations for the department.

Ken Thompson is the new director of fraud investigations for the agency, which administers social services through a variety of state programs. His responsibilities will include managing all investigators, preparing litigation and overseeing information.

Siedlecki said Monday that Thompson’s appointment is part of an effort to reactivate investigations that were discontinued under previous SRS administrations. Siedlecki says the goal is to restore public trust in government by ensuring that benefits are distributed to those who need and deserve them.

Thompson recently was an attorney for the 11-county southeast Kansas region of SRS. He also is a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the Army Reserve.