Not sure if this is the right area - Welfare fraud

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
Hi, I'm sorry if this gets too long, but I need to get everything I can remember here on the table.

I was contacted by the state about overpayment on food stamps in April of 2009. My household consists of myself and my son who is currently 5 years old. My very close friend (for the past 16 years) took me to the bank when my son was 2 years old & we opened a CD for my son for when he gets older, it was in March. I had to be the custodian on the account, so says the banker, so OK, we did that.

When I went to re-apply for my food stamps in Jan of the new year, I disclosed that my son had a CD with money in it & I was told that I no longer qualified for assistance because my resources exceeded what I was allowed to have. I did not know that there was a resource limit. That sucked, but ok, rules are rules. And that was that.

I did not receive any state aid that year. The next year I got a letter saying I was being investigated for an overpayment for my food stamps. I was required to come in for questioning. I did so & answered all questions, stating that I reported the resource when asked, but I didn't know there was a resource limit or that it would even present a problem for my son & me.

A little bit of background about me, I worked part time before I had my son, mostly DJ-ing or party planning & similar things. I have lived with these friends of my family for 10+ years prior to this incident & I am responsible for myself, my food & everything that I need or want, however I DO NOT pay rent, because in trade of rent I take care of their home, cleaning, yard work and transporting their children to and from school & other activities as needed. One night after a party I did things got a little out of hand with a guy, I was using the patch to control the regularity of my period & it was a quick thing, no other BC was used. The patch failed & I got pregnant & have no contact with this guy, so I was on my own. It was the 1st time I EVER did anything like that, Guess I was unlucky. I do not believe in abortion, so here I am. Now, I can only work very minimally, because I have a son to take care of.

After being questioned by that inspector, I was served papers that I was to go for a preliminary hearing about being charged with welfare fraud in the amount of 1700. I was unable to obtain a lawyer because I did not have enough money & they would not appoint one for me because they could not verify my income, because I was self employed (apparently my Federal Tax returns were not good enough proof)

At my Preliminary hearing, I was asked before going into the court room by the person representing the Commonwealth of PA what were my intentions. I said I had no idea what I was doing; I didn't even know what my options were. He asked me if I was willing to pay back the overpayment, I told him yes, of course. He asked if I had a check right then to pay with. I said, “No I don’t have that much money with me”, he said ok. We went in for my preliminary hearing & they presented facts against me, which were all true, everything except that I was willing to pay it back. The judge asked if there was anything incorrect about their testimonies. I told her no, but was otherwise advised by her to not say a word; most people do not even go to their preliminary hearing. I was very upset & after the other people left, the judge was very kind & told me to get an attorney, she brought me a tissue, gave me my unsecured bond information, paperwork & sent me on my way. I was advised to apply for ARD, which the DA denied, despite this being my 1st offense. I never really got an answer WHY I was denied.

I was advised again to try and get an attorney thru the state & was again turned down. I even sent a letter explaining my financial circumstances & was denied anyway. I took the last $500 from my son’s saving to pay for an attorney to handle my case. I met him once. He took all my paperwork and I didn’t see him again until the date of my court hearing.

In the meantime, he emailed my 13 times, he tried to get me into ARD again (or so he claimed) and he said the DA doesn’t have sympathy who commit welfare fraud. He told me that he recommends I plead guilty, otherwise I risk jail time & he didn’t want to see that happen because of my son.

The day of court came & I was so scared, I had no clue what to expect. I was there with my lawyer & I really felt he had no idea what he was doing. He spent a lot of time asking other lawyers questions. At one point, he came back to me and asked if I would forfeit my food stamps for 12 months, which would give me a better chance of a lesser punishment. I said whatever I need to do (though in my head I was wondering how I could make ends meet, as things had gotten really bad for me moneywise)

I went up to the judge when my case was called, she asked what happened, I told her & I was sentenced with the minimum punishment – 1 year probation, $100 fine & to repay the $1700. If I paid it back sooner than a year, I would be relieved of my probation.

Over the year of probation, I was able to survive with no food stamps (I lost 14 pounds this year) and I was able to pay back about $800 on my restitution (My fines & fees were over $800, my total due was almost $3000.) This year my income is at $2850 to date, my son started Kindergarten & as you know food and clothing have gotten expensive, even at thrift stores and Wal-mart.

I have applied for jobs, but have been denied, because they do background checks & I now have a criminal record & there are very few jobs out there, number one, and number 2 ones that have hours I can work while my son is in school from 12:40 to 3:40.

This Thursday, I go back to court for violation of probation, my probation officer has been really great, he told me this is wrong, I do not belong here, I didn’t do anything wrong & they used me to make an example, he has seen people get away with much worse & I should have been accepted into ARD, he just doesn’t understand. I am being recommended for a work program where I can volunteer my time in exchange of paying back my fines & costs, but will still have to work at that restitution. My probation officer said they will likely extend my probation for payment for another 6 months.

So what is my question? Well, does this all sound”right” to everyone? Am I missing something? I was willing to pay back the money from the beginning, why did it have to go down these roads? Is there anything else I can do? Everyone I talk to says that things should not have gone the way they did. This has taken so much away from me as a person mentally over the past 18 months.

As far as a resource limit, I have now found out that currently children under 18 years old, their resources do not count, my case worker (I still get health benefits thru the state) says it does not apply anymore. How sad, all this over something that is not even the case anymore.

Any input would surely be appreciated & Thank you for reading.

Are you receiving child support for your son?

I am not, I have no contact with the father, I do not know where he lives, nor his last name. It was a quick thing, we were flirty during the party, met up afterwards & got it on in his car. We didn't exchange info. I know, it's a terrible thing to do & I have never done that before, NEVER.

blumba said:

I can only work very minimally, because I have a son to take care of.

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I really don't understand this statement because I too have a son to take care of and I have to work my ass off to do it. I didn't know that having a kid meant that you get to work less. Someone forgot to tell me.

As for your probation violation, your probation officer should be able to put in a word for you in his report, you need to make some type of arrangement to get that balance paid off...

and you need to get off the idea that you can only work 3 hours a day.

blumba said:

I am not, I have no contact with the father, I do not know where he lives, nor his last name. It was a quick thing, we were flirty during the party, met up afterwards & got it on in his car. We didn't exchange info. I know, it's a terrible thing to do & I have never done that before, NEVER.

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So...Out of the blue you have unprotected sex with a stranger? Really? Or is this just the "line" you are feeding the state? 'Cause if you are not in the habit of schootping strangers...It seem a little "odd" that your "first time" would result in a child. Seeing as you were on birth-control and all...

It was not my 1st time ever, it was the 1st time with a guy I met at a show I had intercourse with. I was 31 years old when it happened, not generally that irresponsible. I usually know a man before I am with him sexually in any fashion.

And I know I can work more than 3 hours a day, if I can afford child care. Presently I cannot. I have no college degree, nor any experience, and now a criminal record does not help matters.

blumba said:

It was not my 1st time ever, it was the 1st time with a guy I met at a show I had intercourse with. I was 31 years old when it happened, not generally that irresponsible. I usually know a man before I am with him sexually in any fashion.

And I know I can work more than 3 hours a day, if I can afford child care. Presently I cannot. I have no college degree, nor any experience, and now a criminal record does not help matters.

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You were at a party...surely SOMEONE must have seen you two together, flirting, and may be able to figure out who he was?

(This assumes you didn't show up uninvited and unannounced to said party)

I was helping a friend of mine DJ the party. The guy, Ryan, was at the bar next to the room the party was in. The bar is / was open to the public. This really wasn't what my question was about.....

Blumba, the point is that it might help to identify dad and go after him for child support. The state would likely help you in that since the state will want to receive repayment for what they have been paying you.

As for whether this sounds "right" or not, I can't say. I don't see anything unlawful or even unusual about the actions taken, but then I am not from PA. It sounds like a cruddy situation to be in and you are going to have to sacrifice more to avoid any future missteps that land you in trouble. It might require working one or more cruddy part time jobs until you can establish some credibility and work history to overcome the stigma of the fraud conviction. It might also require some creative juggling of time and asking others to step up and watch your child while you work. Perhaps the friends you stay with can watch him while you work at night waiting tables or something. Yes, it would be tiring, and you might find yourself getting minimal sleep and having zero social life, but you do what you have to do - many of us have been there.

Good luck.

It should state clearly in the application asking whether or not you have any type of bank accounts, CDS, trust funds etc. I just talked to a friend who lives in PA and she has both medical and food stamps and said the application clearly asks that question so either you didnt understand it or you skipped over it. Welfare fraud is a huge problem in this country and you probably should not have had that in your name, maybe a family member's name or simply not had it at all. Alot of single parents work full time jobs, manage daycare and make ends meet, usually barely but they do it. Usually with food stamps you can have assets in your name up to a certain amount, that is something you should have looked into. My advice to you would be to do your best to find a full time job, look into head start or other similar type programs to enroll your child and do what you need to do to survive. It seems like there is more to this story than $1700.00 in food stamps. Usually when there is an overpayment they just deduct the overpayment from what you are receiving until it is paid back. Something doesn't sound right here and it would be worth the time and effort to track down your son's birth father and take him to court for child support, regardless if he was a one night stand or a long term relationship he fathered a child and is legally responsible for that child until he is 18. Best of luck to you.

I don't know about your state but if you qualify for aid, you can apply for child care assistance in the same office. Of course, things are very hard now and some states aren't even accepting apps for welfare but you should look into it.

I don't understand why your probation was violated - was it for lack of payment ? Wasn't your probation officer the one who violated you ?? You can always tell the judge your financial situation but they think the community service is ideal to reduce your debt and I am sure you will get lots of judgment for the welfare fraud. I hope things get better for you. It doesn't sound like you got good advice or representation when you needed it.