
Quoting
Taxing Matters
I disagree. The federal government and states have a significant problem with welfare fraud and when they do catch someone engaged in fraud they want to make sure the punishment will be enough to hopefully deter others. I would not be surprised to find that at least some jail time were imposed if the wife is convicted of the fraud. Imposing a fine isn't much good if the state can't collect it. And just hitting them with probation and telling them they have to repay what they took isn't much of a deterrent.