An Allen County woman was ordered to pay back over $22,000 that she got through an assistance program that she was not eligible for.
Linda Mayberry pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted use of the SNAP program benefits and sentenced to community control. She was ordered to pay back the money to the Allen County Job and Family Services. Fraud investigators from Job and Family Services found out that she falsely reported that the father of her children had moved out of the house and she was reporting the family income lower than it actually was to receive the benefits. This investigation was part of the agency’s Early Detection Program to stop and prevent these types of fraud.
“We see a lot of investigations coming though that we have to do that involve people being in the home or not being in the home or under-reported income as well,” says Shannen Vermillion of Allen Co. Job and Family Services.
The Allen County Early Detection Program was started thanks to funding from the state to catch any errors in applications, specifically looking for information about income and the number of household members that don’t add up.
*Edit/Correction - We incorrectly stated WIC benefits instead of SNAP benefits. We apologize for the error.
*Edit/Correction - Corrected a misspelling.
