Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State prosecutors describe restitution-focused approach to public assistance fraud
Summary
An assistant attorney general told the Legislature the state prosecutes large public-assistance fraud cases to recover taxpayer funds and generally uses probation and restitution rather than prison for most defendants.
Assistant Attorney General Wes Stapley told the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on June 26 that prosecutors prioritize restitution and avoiding jail time for most public assistance fraud cases while pursuing felony prosecutions when overpayments exceed statutory thresholds.
Stapley, who prosecutes public-assistance fraud for the Office of the Attorney General, said the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) investigates suspected fraud in programs that include TANF, SNAP and the Child Care and Development Fund, and that DWS refers cases to his office when alleged overpayments exceed a felony-2 threshold.
Stapley said: “If it is less than $5,000, it is only dealt with administratively at the Department of…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
