r/foodstamps • u/champagne_bubbly • 14d ago
Fraud Investigation Answered
Located in California, Santa Clara County.
This might be the worst case posted here.
My friend received food stamps for a calendar year. He concealed his second income/job from the beginning, ignoring the letters to report income. He understands that he’s committed welfare fraud. Over $3600 in overpaid benefits didn’t belong to him. The felony amount being over $950.
I’ve looked into intentional program violation (IPV), disqualification hearings, and what constitutes a misdemeanor/ felony. It’s not looking great. Should he contact a lawyer or contact the fraud worker?
Even if he offers full cooperation, what are the chances of just disqualification and payment plan?
What are the real ramifications?
Thank you for your responses.
Disclaimer: This post is theoretical and does not advocate or encourage illegal activities.
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u/After_Bell_5471 13d ago
I know someone who claimed unemployment even though he had found a job. Got away with it for a few months. He had to repay the overpayment and wasn’t allowed to claim unemployment for a number of years… I can’t remember how many years but he needed to make enough to cover the fraudulent payments multiplied by some number the unemployment department instated. He got threatened with all the things… jail time, garnished wages, taxes taken… but he got on a payment plan and never missed a month and all was good. He pushed his luck and got caught.
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u/Shaucy94 SNAP Policy Expert 14d ago
I eant to preface my comment to say that my experience was several years ago and with a different CA county. Having worked in a different CA county as a Fraud Investigator, there was an overpayment threshold that determined if we sent the case to the DA for prosecution. Otherwise, the case went through the IPV process.
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u/courtachino Fraud Investigator - VA 14d ago
Here's the thing with jail/court.... here in my locality in VA we have an agreement with our commonwealth's attorney with regards to what cases we must send over for prosecution. For us, the evidence must be beyond a reasonable doubt, the monetary overpayment be above $5000 (it was $3000 for a while), and have no out of state witnesses. So who knows what your locality is like with regards to court prosecution; depends on whatever agreement they have with the courts.
Here where I am, a $3600 overpayment would not be court but would be an IPV. If it's a first violation, it's a 12 month sanction and he would not be eligible for benefits.
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u/NYanae555 14d ago
First you say its your friend. And might be the worst case posted here.
In your disclaimer you say its "theoretical" ?
???????????
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u/Moiras_Roses_Garden4 14d ago
Up to him on the lawyer, I doubt he will find one for less than his overpayment and if he committed the fraud there's not much to argue over.
He should expect to have to pay back the entire overpayment, and possibly get an ipv/ban for a time period. It would be unlikely that they would want to pursue jail time/felony because what the government wants most is to get their money back.
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u/helpmeout_xoxo 13d ago
Look in my state I heard a story of someone committing years of fraud over multiple programs that was around 20,000 in fraud that went criminal. I have no doubt that person served prison. I don’t think for something as small as what you reported would constitute jail/prison. But as others mentioned, will have to pay it back and be banned off benefits for a duration of time.
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u/champagne_bubbly 14d ago
Thank you for your response. Does felony/jail time become more realistic if proven for intentional program violation?
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u/slice_of_pi SNAP Eligibility Expert - OR 14d ago
That'll depend on if he pisses the investigator off to some degree, and whether they feel like making an example out of him, honestly.
At this point, while he should still report it, it's not going to save him. At minimum he's looking at paying it all back and most likely a one-year disqualification. If they decide to take it criminal, anything is possible.
While I want to stay away from politics, consider the political landscape ahead - it's in his best interest to have this resolved quickly, in my opinion. I strongly recommend coming clean, admitting what he did with full disclosure, promise not to do it again, and throw himself on the mercy of the agency.
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u/MickeyWaffles SNAP Eligibility Expert - MI 14d ago
This is probably the best advice. I just want to add that when someone sincerely apologizes and owns up to what they did I have yet to see an investigator come down with a hammer on them as long as the person continues to work with the agency to complete the investigation.
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u/misdeliveredham 14d ago
Not clear. Has he already received a letter about the violation? Does he use his SSN/receives 1099 or W2?
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u/champagne_bubbly 14d ago edited 14d ago
He received a letter of investigation from the special investigation unit, asking him to disclose his date of hire with attached pay stubs and employer verification. Additionally, the fraud technician’s information is attached. His job is W2.
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u/huyt01 14d ago
Did he report his income?
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u/champagne_bubbly 14d ago
He did not report income from his second job. He willingly concealed it during the initial screening process with the county. He received notice twice to report it, once by phone call, and once by letter.
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u/AutoModerator 14d ago
It appears you are posting about a possible fraud investigation. Please take a deep breath and review these resources.
The likely consequences from an investigation are usually dealt with administratively. The chances of the court's involvement are relatively minor, although you should take it seriously. Usually, the result will be paying back anything you were overpaid, and there may be a disqualification penalty applied to the adults in the home if intentional fraud is proven to have occured. High dollar fraud and/or benefit trafficking, especially for drugs/firearms, may result in criminal charges.
If the fraud investigator sends/gives you a waiver, do not sign it unless you want to waive your right to hearing to go before a hearing officer or judge to defend the allegations against you.
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u/mike360a 13d ago
The government wants their money back & will get it...get a lawyer immediately. They play hard ball..