Maryland lawmakers hear bill to criminalize diversion of government benefits
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Summary
Supporters told the House Judiciary Committee Jan. 27 that HB 216 would close a gap in state law by creating a benefits-exploitation offense for knowingly diverting SSI, SSDI, SNAP or Medicaid; sponsor said an amendment scales penalties by the value lost.
Delegate Aaron Kaufman asked the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 27 for a favorable report on HB 216, a bipartisan bill he said would create a discrete criminal offense for obtaining or redirecting another person’s government benefits through deception, coercion, isolation or exploitation.
The sponsor framed the bill as closing a gap in Maryland law that currently targets financial exploitation of vulnerable adults but does not explicitly criminalize the intentional diversion of public benefits such as Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, SNAP or Medicaid. Kaufman said his staff circulated an amendment that reduces the harshest penalties and ties felony versus misdemeanor classification to the aggregated value of benefits taken.
Why it matters: Witnesses from AARP Maryland, The Arc Maryland and Maryland Legal Aid told the committee they see rising cases in which older adults and people with disabilities are isolated in unlicensed facilities or by family members and have their benefits diverted for others’ gain. Maryland Legal Aid described a case in which an elderly client lost Social Security payments, pension and rental income for roughly 18 months before a guardianship attempt exposed the exploitation.
What the amendment does: Kaufman said the amendment makes violations valued under $5,000 misdemeanors (up to one year in jail or a fine up to $5,000), creates a higher misdemeanor tier for aggregated values of $5,000 up to $25,000 (exposure up to three years), and reserves felony exposure — up to 10 years’ incarceration and a fine up to $15,000 — for aggregated losses of $25,000 or more. Kaufman said adjustments were made after discussions with the Office of the Public Defender.
Support and questions: AARP Maryland’s advocacy director Sarah Westrick said the bill is a crucial protection against predatory operators and ‘‘shadow’’ senior-care homes. Andy Culp of The Arc described similar harms affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Committee members pressed the sponsor about whether family caregivers would be deterred; the sponsor and witnesses said the bill targets corrupt or exploitative actors, not caregiving done in good faith.
Next steps: The committee concluded testimony on HB 216 and moved to other bills. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.