Failure to Accurately Report Income When Obtaining Public Assistance

[Goliath08]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: california
So I use to receive food stamps and for the last 2 years I would receive them my husband and my relationship was not good he would only give me half of what he really earned not knowing that I was making copies and sending them to the food stamp office. It's been 2 years and I got a call from the district attorney to go in to see him because of some discrepencies in the reports. So I go see him and he has al this paperwork and everything that my husband was really earning. He has me initial every paper I ever sent to them and now I'm not sure I did the right thing. I know that we have to pay everything back and I want to but what is going to happen to me? Jail?

[Mr. Knowitall]

You were making copies of what? Obviously not his paychecks or paystubs.

[llworking]

You were making copies of what? Obviously not his paychecks or paystubs.

Unless he was working two jobs.

[Goliath08]

I made copies of his paycheck stubs to send to the office. But he was only giving me what he made in 2 weeks not the whole month! So now they're investigating me for not reporting his full monthy income!

[llworking]

I made copies of his paycheck stubs to send to the office. But he was only giving me what he made in 2 weeks not the whole month! So now they're investigating me for not reporting his full monthy income!

That doesn't make sense...paycheck stubs have the year to date figures on them as well as the figures for the current period. They also have the dates of the current period. It would be easy for the food stamp caseworker to see that it was only a biweekly paystub.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You should discuss your case with a criminal defense lawyer, and find out what the prosecutor's policies are in relation to this type of case. Perhaps you'll be lucky and they'll agree to dismiss based upon your repayment of the benefits you were not entitled to receive.

I suspect that a prosecutor is going to have difficulty buying into the story that your husband had no idea that you were supposed to document his income to SNAP, that for two years he inexplicably but without fail gave you every other pay stub (with no documentation of earnings to date), and that you never noticed a discrepancy based upon your household's budget and spending patters, his W-2, or your income tax return. Whatever happened, the actions you describe come across as very calculated.