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California Welfare & Institutions Code 10980 WIC defines the crime of welfare fraud as making false statements or failing to report important information when applying for public programs to obtain benefits. 1 California’s welfare programs include.
Welfare fraud is federally covered under 42 U.S. Code Section 608a – Fraud Under Means-Tested Welfare and Public Assistance Programs. Welfare Fraud Punishment. Under state welfare statutes, but also under general criminal ones, including theft and perjury, penalties can be imposed when someone is convicted of welfare fraud.
Punishment. The average sentence for individuals sentenced for government benefits fraud was 19 months. 75.1% were sentenced to prison. 5.3% were convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty; of those individuals, 19.0% were relieved of that penalty.
Your penalty under Welfare and Institutions Code 10980 will depend on the specific type of welfare fraud you are convicted of, as outlined below. Statements If you are convicted of making a false or misleading statement in an effort to obtain benefits, you face a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum $500 fine. 10
(1) If the total amount of the aid obtained or retained is nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or less, by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than six months, by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both imprisonment and fine.
What Are the Penalties for Welfare Fraud in California? Since there are so many ways to violate WIC 10980, some more serious than others, there is a wide range of possible penalties for committing welfare fraud depending on which part of the law you are convicted of violating.
CDSS Fraud Bureau 744 P Street, MS 8-5-26 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 653-1826 fraudprevention@dss.ca.gov Fraud Referral Hotline 1-800-344-TIPS Email: FraudHotline@dss.ca.gov. Resources and Information. County Welfare Fraud Referral Phone Numbers; Public Contact Information for Intercepted Tax Refunds; Reporting Welfare Fraud