Under California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 10980 welfare fraud is an act of unlawfully obtaining welfare benefits from the government by intentionally submitting false information or withholding relevant information or.
According to California W&I Code 10980, defendant can commit welfare fraud in different forms, including:
Generally California welfare fraud can be classed to two main types: recipient welfare fraud or internal fraud.
Recipient fraud involves any attempt to receive, secure, retain, or increase a benefit by means of submitting wrongful, incomplete or misleading information. Recipient fraud examples include:
Internal fraud is committed by an employee of a government welfare agency. This occurs when the workers are unlawfully disbursing welfare benefits to themselves, their family members or friends.
Prosecuting agencies in California receive welfare fraud cases from different sources, as public hotlines and websites, local agencies and any other agencies that suspect welfare fraud. Welfare fraud investigations start from gathering evidence and information in welfare fraud cases, including:
The investigator presents relevant information to a deputy district attorney who will determine whether a criminal filing is appropriate or not. District attorney can do one of the following:
According to California WIC Section 10980, welfare fraud is a wobbler and can either be filed as a misdemeanor or felony crime and the type of charges depend of the value of benefits defendant’s criminal history.
In case the defendant made false or misleading statement for obtaining benefits, he will face:
Defendant will be convicted for feeling fraudulent application in case:
Fraudulent application can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony offense. Penalties for felony Welfare and Institutions Code 10980 conviction include:
Penalties for misdemeanor Welfare and Institutions Code 10980 conviction are the following:
In case the total value of the benefit is $950 or less obtaining or retaining fraudulent benefits is a misdemeanor, and is punishable by:
In case the total value of the benefit was more than $950, the defendant will face felony, punishable by:
Selling, buying, or misusing food stamps is a misdemeanor in case the amount involved was $950 or less, punishable by
In case the value is more than $950 the defendant will face felony, punishable by
People convicted of welfare fraud may lose their professional license, job, become disqualified to receive future welfare benefits.
Our California welfare fraud defense lawyers are here to answer any questions If you or a loved one has been charged with Welfare and Institutions Code 10980 and you would like to discuss your case confidentially with one of our criminal defense lawyers at (310) 943-1171.
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