PENNSYLVANIA — The Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) revealed that it filed public assistance fraud charges against 52 individuals in January 2023. The restitution owed to the Commonwealth in these cases totals $349,835. Additional cost savings will be realized as the defendants will be temporarily disqualified from receiving public benefits in the programs they allegedly defrauded.
“We must protect the integrity of Pennsylvania’s public assistance programs, and that’s why OSIG is working to make sure only Pennsylvanians who qualify receive assistance,” said State Inspector General Lucas M. Miller. “I am proud of OSIG’s investigators who help ensure accountability with the Commonwealth’s public assistance programs.”
OSIG investigates and prosecutes public assistance fraud and conducts collection activities for the public benefits programs administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS).
During January 2023, OSIG filed felony charges of fraudulently receiving public assistance against a total of 49 individuals and misdemeanor charges against three separate individuals. It is alleged that these individuals misrepresented themselves and fraudulently received taxpayer-funded public benefits to which they were not entitled.
If convicted, the maximum penalty defendants face for public assistance fraud is seven years in prison and a fine of $15,000. In the case of SNAP, Cash Assistance, or Subsidized Day Care fraud, defendants also face a mandatory disqualification period from the benefits program they allegedly defrauded.
All persons charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Anonymously report suspected welfare fraud on the OSIG website here.
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