1/13/17
by News Department on 01/13/17Welfare Fraud...
The Office of Inspector General successfully adjudicated 60 welfare fraud cases involving 45 individuals from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 2016, two of which are from Schuylkill County.
42 year old Christine Schwartz, of Pottsville and 45 year old Bettyann Harmer, of Minersville, both pleaded guilty for fraudulently obtaining public assistance benefits.
OIG said the cases will bring the commonwealth $314,301.75 in restitution and will generate additional cost savings because the defendants will be temporarily disqualified from receiving future public benefits in the programs they defrauded.
Acting Inspector General Tyrone Powell said, “These numbers reflect the hard work of OIG Bureau of Fraud Prevention and Prosecution investigators acting to save taxpayer dollars and ensure that these benefits are available to those Pennsylvanians who truly need them.”
