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NY Penal Law § 158.15: Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree
Welfare fraud is the act of receiving public assistance benefits on the basis of some kind of fraudulent action. The fraud can include giving false statements on an application for benefits, neglecting to report the receipt of another type of benefit such as workers compensation, or neglecting to report income. Five welfare fraud offenses are covered in the New York criminal code. The particular charge you would face is based on the dollar amount of public assistance benefits you are accused of stealing from the government. You could be prosecuted under New York Penal Law section 158.15 for welfare fraud in the third degree if you:
- Knowingly committed a fraudulent welfare act, and
- The value of the benefit funds you received from your activity was greater than $3,000
A “fraudulent welfare act” entails engaging in any of the following activities:
- Filing an application for a public benefit card in full awareness that the application contains false information,
- Assuming the identity of another person in order to get public assistance benefits, or
- Putting forth a false statement in order to fraudulently establish or maintain eligibility for public assistance benefits; or to get an increase or to prevent the reduction of public assistance benefits.
For the purposes of the welfare fraud legislation, the term “public assistance benefits” refers to money, property or services furnished by the federal, state or local government and administered by the Department of Social Services or by social services districts.
A Case Law Example
Nicole Carter put in an application at the New York City Human Resources Administration for SNAP food benefits, temporary cash assistance, and public health insurance. On her application, Ms. Carter certified that she had no income or resources to report. In actuality, Ms. Carter was working for the United States Postal Service, as evidenced by pay stubs and time sheets, as well as by the testimony from a USPS investigator. Subsequently, Ms. Carter was convicted of welfare fraud in the third degree based on the amount of benefits she received fraudulently. This was the case of the People v. Carter, 948 N.Y.S.2d 608 (N.Y. App. Div., 2012)
Offenses that are Related
Welfare fraud in the fifth degree: New York Penal Law section 158.05
Welfare fraud in the fourth degree: New York Penal Law section 158.10
Welfare fraud in the second degree: New York Penal Law section 158.20
Welfare fraud in the first degree: New York Penal Law section 158.25
Possible Defenses
In order to get a convict against you on a charge of welfare fraud in the third degree, the prosecutor has to be able to demonstrate that your fraudulently received benefits funds exceeded $3,000. If the prosecutor is not able to prove that, even if the prosecutor was able to prove that you did indeed get the benefits fraudulently, then the court is probably going to dismiss the charge.
The Sentence
Since this is a class D felony offense, if you are convicted of welfare fraud in the fifth degree, your sentence might include a prison term of up to 7 years, a probation term of 5 years, and the payment of a fine. You would also be obligated to repay the funds that you received fraudulently.