24 from Orange County Charged with Welfare Fraud
24 Orange County residents were charged with stealing over $240,000 in welfare, food stamps, medicaid and other public assistance benefits.
The arrests were part of a joint effort between the Orange County Department of Social Services Special Investigations Unit, the Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office.
During the investigation, investigators reviewed files of public assistance benefit recipients suspected of fraud, interviewed recipients, and forwarded cases to the District Attorney’s Office for further investigation.
Investigators from the District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office interviewed many of the recipients before arresting them.
Below is a chart supplied by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office of the names of those arrested, the amount they allegedly stole, charges, and hometown:
NAME | TOTAL AMOUNT | BENEFIT | AGE | CHARGES | PLACE OF RESIDENCE |
Janine Cassisi | $32,700.89 | SNAPMedicaid | 52 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | New Windsor |
Nadia Jackson | $30,618.00 | SNAP | 38 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Maria Benetiz | $27,962.00 | SNAPTA | 35 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Middletown |
Cherdale Benjamin | $20,695 | SNAP | 45 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Middletown |
Lorena Ortiz | $14,027.00 | SNAPMedicaid | 55 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Cornwall |
Mallory Berrios | $11,558.36 | Medicaid | 25 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Highland Mills |
Belinda Newkirk | $8,707.84 | SNAPMedicaid | 41 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Kristen Torres | $8,098.50 | Medicaid | 34 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | New Windsor |
Eric Rodarte | $7,897.00 | SNAPTA | 35 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Shawte Ward | $7,263.00 | TA | 32 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Dorean Christian | $6,594.23 | SNAPMedicaid | 54 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Montgomery |
Mary Beth Buttiglieri | $3,891.00 | SNAP | 48 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Cornwall |
Bobby Jones, Jr.Angel Jones | $3,315 | SNAPMedicaid | 39 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Middletown |
Reggie Smith | $3,279.50 | SNAPTA | 20 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Kelly Ann Sanchez | $3,146.66 | SNAPTA | 24 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Stacey Rayford | $2,421.00 | SNAP | 45 | Welfare Fraud 4Grand Larceny 4 | Newburgh |
David Lewis | $2,036.00 | SNAPTA | 54 | Welfare Fraud 4Grand Larceny 4 | Newburgh |
Chantel Russ | $1,128.00 | SNAP | 27 | Welfare Fraud 4Grand Larceny 4 | Newburgh |
Angelica Cespedes | $2,285.00 | SNAP | 29 | Welfare Fraud 4Grand Larceny 4 | Newburgh |
Patricia Richards | $5,601.00 | SNAPMedicaid | 45 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Katrina Thomas | $3,190.49 | SNAP | 39 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Middletown |
Alber Cortez | $7,080.01 | SNAPMedicaid | 47 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | Newburgh |
Kim Simon-Smith | $28,777.61 | Medicaid | 50 | Welfare Fraud 3Grand Larceny 3 | New Windsor |
The welfare fraud investigation is the fifth since Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler, and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus took office. Since 2014, 146 have been charged with welfare fraud as a result of the five public benefits fraud enforcement actions.
In all 5 investigations $1,547,573.49 was allegedly stolen. To date, Orange County has been repaid approximately $420,076.76 by criminal defendants who were charged in the enforcement actions.
“The over one and one half million dollars in public benefits fraud that have been discovered during the course of these enforcement actions demonstrate just how much this type of fraud costs taxpayers,” said District Attorney Hoovler in a statement.
“Cracking down on welfare fraud has been a priority since District Attorney Hoovler and I took office,” said County Executive Neuhaus. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone that abuses Orange County’s social services. We will not allow anyone to cheat the system and the hardworking taxpayers of Orange County. These types of cases are a priority for us.”