Welfare Fraud Charge for Not Disclosing Living Arrangement

My question involves criminal law for the state of: welfare fraud

I applied for food stamps in June when I was pregnant, when I spoke with a lady in the interview before I even receive benefits, and told her I lived with my boyfriend and asked if it was okay, that's fine. She claims that she informed me that his income would count after the baby was born, but I don't remember that. Even the i don't remember her saying that, they say its my word against hers. I told them my baby was due Nov 9th.

I kept receiving benefits for a year. It is on record that they knew the exact date my baby was born Nov 11th. and they upped my benefits higher. Apparently I was supposed to inform them of the boyfriend again... And then add his income. But after having a baby the last thing I was thinking was about food stamps. I had alot going on in my life including my boyfriends divorce from his ex, which she was harassing the whole time. My mind was focused all in on that. And we were barely making my it by, he has alot of bills, but his income exceeds the qualifications.

When they called for an interview they asked if I was living with my boyfriend, I said yes, they asked for a written statement of him living with me and his income from back from November. I did. Now, im being charged with "false statements" which I never lied!!! It was an honest mistake not to have known to report his income on my own. If they would have asked it would have ended there, but it went on for a year, now I owe 2,563.00.

I have money from a personal loan and I offered a check at our meeting at the office. They say i have to a preliminary hearing, and face a magistrate. I didn't do this on purpose and I never lied to them!!!!

During the year did you ever complete another form that asks for your household income? If so and you didn't include your boyfriends income you did, in fact, lie.

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Quoting Paige33

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They say i have to a preliminary hearing, and face a magistrate. I didn't do this on purpose and I never lied to them!!!!

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You're charged with a crime. Nobody can get into the detail of your state's laws as "welfare fraud" is not the name of a state, and laws vary by state. You should speak with a criminal defense lawyer in your state.

If they want to get technical. And I can't believe I missed this. I failed to know that his income became relevant because we had a baby, in their eyes there is a connection between us even if we aren't married because of the child. I was explained this in the last interview. Though, if we want to get technical. Nothing changed in my household, my address did not change, therefore they had knowledge of who I lived with. Also the prosecutor and i, had a discussion on the phone, he gave me a date for a meeting. Tuesday Nov 14th, he sent a letter in the mail, saying the date was Monday Nov 7th. But Nov 7th is a Tuesday and when I called about it and asked he was very rude to me, making it out that im stupid. I believe they make mistakes as well. Also in my income I reported I no longer receive unemployment, I received it in 2016 but on my paperwork it claims I received unemployment in 2017 which I did not, and I reported that! They are also calculating his income with his overtime and he barely worked overtime. He worked 40 hours only to help me with the baby. And im going to look into it, but I do believe its possible we would qualify had they went off 40 hours.
These people are making mistakes too

Did you fill out any other forms in that year and exclude his income? Then yes you lied.

Just because you don't remember them telling you to report his income doesn't mean they didn't. When you apply for assistance they go over all this with you. You should have made sure you understood about what benefits you got and if you were still with the boyfriend. All that other stuff doesn't matter.

The only time the state makes up numbers to use is when you (or an employer) doesn't provide them.

I did provide that information. Its nice to know that the system is setup to where when innocent honest people get into trouble. They are the ones with authority and are supposed to be more knowledgeable. This a system to help people. In no way would I ever do this on purpose. And if I was a fraud? Do you think I would've asked and told them in the beginning? No. I would've just went through with it. And in the last interview, would I have said yes, I live with the father, if I was a liar. Would I provide a written statement and his paystubs if I was a criminal? Im being treated like one, and they are being very disrespectful and rude. It opened my eyes to even more about the "justice" system. I have no problem paying it back. I will agree I believe I owe in back on account of error, but as far being prosecuted for this, I don't agree. They told me I could be ordered to pay back restitution and get ard, or I could get 10 years in jail. Its absolutely unbelievable.

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Quoting Paige33

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I did provide that information. Its nice to know that the system is setup to where when innocent honest people get into trouble. They are the ones with authority and are supposed to be more knowledgeable. This a system to help people. In no way would I ever do this on purpose. And if I was a fraud? Do you think I would've asked and told them in the beginning? No. I would've just went through with it. And in the last interview, would I have said yes, I live with the father, if I was a liar. Would I provide a written statement and his paystubs if I was a criminal? Im being treated like one, and they are being very disrespectful and rude. It opened my eyes to even more about the "justice" system. I have no problem paying it back. I will agree I believe I owe in back on account of error, but as far being prosecuted for this, I don't agree. They told me I could be ordered to pay back restitution and get ard, or I could get 10 years in jail. Its absolutely unbelievable.

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Look, why don't you get yourself a consult with a local criminal law attorney? That way you will have a better idea of just what you might be facing. However, you were informed that you needed to report the father and his income after the child was born, and you did not do so, therefore in their eyes what you did was deliberate. Now, you may be able to convince the judge that it truly was an oversight on your part, and that it was not intentional and that you will pay it back...hopefully with the means to do so right there at the hearing.

Yes, this happened in Pennsylvania. I filled out paperwork applying for a public defender. (I made sure I legally qualified.)
I have to wait for something in the mail about court before my application gets processed.
(And for the record)
The father of my child would have qualified if it wasn't for his overtime. But if he didnt we would have sunk. He also has to feed his 16 year old son and he eats alot! His address is at his mothers, she fought for months for him. but he still is with us 2 days a week and every other weekend. There's alot more to this, we are not sitting pretty. We are struggling and we are trying so hard. I never thought about it before, but I truly should have relyed on food banks, instead of food stamps. I can't be accused of anything with that kind of charity.

Though I am sure they will tell you, and you will not hear, and it will be over and over that they accused me of lying and I am a wonderful honest person yada yada, if your income was this....whatever it was, and you had told them it was that....something else, then you did misrepresent. And you received the benefits. And everything they have, believe me, they do NOT just make things up, and they do not go by what you tell them, they cross check everything you can imagine. When you filed your income taxes for those years when you received Food Stamps. and one nickel of unemployment insurance, or one dime of your boy friend's income was in question, they got that information, and they have it, and you are fried if you didn't give that information to them. So stop with the silly defenses, and take the attitude that you "didn't remember" (doesn't matter. You signed the paperwork giving them the right to verify every single thing you told them regarding the income your household has) and that they have somehow treated you unfairly. They haven't.

People are not believed when they tell the system how much their income is. You would be surprised about how many people flat out lie,and forget to mention things, and make up things and hide things. So the system verifies every thing you tell them, pretty much. And you are one of thousands they caught lying to them, this year. It does happen.

They got the information when your child was born. They cross matched where your boyfriend was living. They can tell how much he made during this time. They know how much you had in your bank account, how much your income taxes reported you made. Your family income is what they determine it was, not what you think you should have been counted for, or what you told them when you didn't understand, yada yada. THEY DON"T MAKE STUFF UP. Your best chances are to get yourself some representation and let them do the talking about what your income was, and let them work out with the food stamp system exactly how far off your claimed income was from your real household income, and what they want to do about it.

I'm not saying they are making stuff up, and I'm not saying that they shouldn't have counted his overtime. I know this may sound shocking, but people do make mistakes! Including them! They are human too! If this system is to help people, and they are so worried about their money, why don't they keep track of this stuff. If they would have sent me a letter requesting his income the moment my daughter was born, it would be a done deal. They could have said " due to your input that you live with the father, and your baby has been born, you are no longer eligible for benefits." because nothing changed with my status. It is on record they knew when she was born, and kept sending me benefits.
Like I said, I did NOT mean to receive benefits unlawfully. That's just horrible! All I can do is be honest and hope for the best!

Yes, this is correct. They didn't find out about your situation the instant it happened. It would've been your responsibility to inform them. Though they will eventually catch up with the information, they are not making day to day evaluations of your eligibility and changes in your circumstances.

But as you say, you were very busy and didn't think of doing this, and so it didn't get done until they did find out about it, and then they have contacted you and come after you requesting more information. It is on record, they knew when she was born (and incidentally it was your job to inform them that the situation had changed, not theirs to catch you) but they kept sending me benefits. So what is your problem with them? You have received some benefits you were not qualified for. Now you'll probably have to pay them back, or get sanctions, or something, to correct the situation. You did receive benefits unlawfully, whether you mean to or not. If they made a mistake (and not immediately discerning that you'd had a baby and that you were not eligible any more was not THEIR mistake) then it is your job to help them get it right. As you said, be honest and hope for the best.

Is this the first time you have made a "mistake" in not reporting information ? Or reporting incorrect information ? It seems odd they would prosecute you if this is the first time. Are you also receiving TANF ?

When you applied you agreed to report when there was a birth or death. And when there were changes in your household income. Does your child's father pay child support for your child ?

Yes, this my first time making a mistake. Yes I get 100 dollars and I reported that. And no I do not receive TANF.