Investigated Following an Abuse Report Against My Ex-Spouse

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: IN

Well, I posted awhile back a few weeks ago about the situation with my ex wife and her now ex boyfriend... when they broke up.. he tried to call me up to gang up against her. I told him no. Our issues have been settled for a long time and we are happy. Well, up until now they have left us out of it.

But I got a text today from my ex wife saying to expect a call from CPS because her ex boyfriend filed false accusations against her and they were proven to be false. And he is trying to go after her for food stamp fraud I guess. I know she gets them, but as far as I know she has done it all legitimately. So, with this.. they brought up the incident that happened a few years ago when she committed welfare fraud with tanf and it had to do with me and our children together. We went to court and she was ordered to cancel her tanf benefits, which she did and she had to pay them back. But, she was told she would never be able to get tanf again due to committing that. But anyway.. fast forward over 4 years. Things have been fine, I believe she learned her lesson. She was still getting food stamps though.. I don't know if she is committing fraud with those. They were living together, but he was claiming a different address... we think probably on purpose so she could get them.. (so I guess that is fraud) I don't know anything about welfare. But, they were both apart of it and covering their tracks I guess.

Anyway, CPS is investigating I guess and the situation with her and me that was settled was brought up. She and I both have proof of that being settled.. and she has the paper work where she quit tanf like she was told too. So, I'm expecting a call from them. I thought I was going to be left out of it, but I guess not now. Is there anything they can do? Since it was settled and it was 4 years ago? Will him going after her for food stamp fraud have to involve me? I will tell them when they call that I think she's a good mom.. she's made some mistakes but she takes care of her kids very well and I'm sure she tries... and everything about the tanf fraud is true but was settled years ago and she hasn't had it since. The only thing she has now is food stamps I guess. But I'm pretty sure in Indiana that food stamps don't involve child support like tanf does. She has to count it as income.. but they don't go after it. At least they haven't taken it... And with the tanf fraud when she committed it they were after her immidiately. So anyway, I'm just hoping that she will be able to leave me out of it. What will they want from me? Just to say she's telling the truth? Surely the thing from the past that was settled won't hold up, right? I mean, she did that years ago, but he recently slashed her tires and had a protection order set up against him and then he violated it and went to jail for a night. He is crazy! I'm sure he is angry in dealing with the situation with their son together.. but still. It's just stressful because I do not want to be involved in her crap with her ex boyfriend. So, I'm just hoping I won't have to be dragged into it.

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And he is trying to go after her for food stamp fraud I guess.

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He doesn't have standing to "go after her". All he can do is report her. He will not be apprised of the results of any investigation.

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What will they want from me?

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No one can answer that. You're going to have to wait until they contact you to see what information they want. Answer truthfully, and if you want to do her a solid, point out that XBF had a restraining order slapped on him, violated it, and got tossed in the clink over it. That may well be enough to shut the whole thing down and allow you both to get on with your lives.

Well we know they are going to question me about the tanf incident from 4 years ago because that's what they told her. I just don't know how that could even hold up because we both have proof of that being taken care of.. And if she did commit food stamp fraud he was apart of it it all too... He lived with her and let her..

I guess I'm just wondering if he reports her for food stamp fraud what does the settled incident have to do with it?

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I'm not sure why my title changed and this was moved? There is a spelling error in the title! lol It's okay. I wasn't really sure where to put it.

When you pick a forum at random and ignore the instruction to title your thread in a meaningful manner, you create work for the moderators. C'est la vie.

We have no way of telling you why the case worker deems the past act of welfare fraud to be an appropriate subject for investigation. Perhaps she's concerned that criminal behavior is ongoing, and that the possibility of such behavior could create instability in the household. We can only guess.

I apologize. I didn't realize I did it wrong.

I understand what you are saying. That is my guess too. I understand there is no way to know for sure. The case worker probably just wants to confirm with me what she is saying.

I just don't want to be dragged into her new issues. When they call I will just tell them what I know. But, I figure IF she was committing food stamp fraud, he would be guilty too since he lived with her reaping the benefits all along... I don't know how food stamps or welfare work at all.. I've never been on it. I don't know if people can qualify for food stamps while living with a boyfriend who is paying for things, legally? I guess it would depend on their income combined. Like I said, I'm just trying to figure out if her ex boyfriend reporting her for this fraud will have to include me beyond just answering CPS questions to confirm what she told them already. And like I said, he is psychotic.. she has a restraining order against him, he was put in jail for violating it, etc. I would definitely think that would be worse for the children than anything she could have done.

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Well they called and it turns out my ex blew it out of proportion. They just had to notify me and tell me a report had been filed...they asked if I had any concerns and I told them no. They said they don't even care about her past fraud issues..they don't deal with that. They said they went to their home and found that every accusation was false.. He's just a crazy upset ex boyfriend... And she says she thinks he has calmed down and dropped it.