New York Police Arrest 42 over $642K in Alleged Welfare Fraud

New York Police Arrest 42 over $642K in Alleged Welfare Fraud

On March 28, Onondaga County New York Sheriffs announced the arrests of 42 people accused of defrauding the state of some $624,000 in welfare benefits.

Syracuse resident Sharena Taylor stands accused of stealing the greatest amount, $71,441.01. Two others are accused of stealing more than $30,000 and four more are said to have taken over $20,000 each. 42 people in all were arrested.

“There are few frauds more egregious than people who apply for and use public assistance benefits when they are not eligible,” District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told the media. “They are not only stealing from tax paying citizens, they hurt those who truly need public assistance.”

The raids on the homes of the 42 individuals were carried out by a joint force consisting of the county sheriffs, the Department of Social Services, and the state District Attorney’s office, along with participation from the New York State Police as well as officers from the cities of Syracuse, Manlius, Geddes, Camillus, Solvay, East Syracuse, and DeWitt.

A list of the 40 people arrested as well as the amount they are accused of stealing was published by The Syracuse Post-Standard:

Sharena Taylor, of Syracuse: $71,441.01
Tuyetnga Nguyen, of Syracuse: $35,126.09
Kimberly Gomez, of Liverpool: $31,421.98
Liza Acquah, of Mattydale: $29,613.27
Fatma Afifi, of Geddes: $29,413.71
Sergey Shakhov, of Geddes: $24,277.00
Venus White, of Syracuse: $22,805.33
Jennifer Raphael and Damien White, of Kirkville: $18,096.85
Ann Smith, of Syracuse: $17,923.30
Michele Vedder, of East Syracuse: $15,890.54
Rachael Jordan, of Syracuse: $15,614.17
Beth Rathbun, of Syracuse: $15,139.93
Kelly McCullough, of Fayetteville: $15,033.88
Mary Aljamel, of Syracuse: $14,848.87
Gregory Roach, of Tully: $14,218.26
Lachelle Felder, of Syracuse: $14,018.46
Tyesheka Graves, of Syracuse: $13,912.06
Garfield Hector, of Syracuse: $13,546.24
Waldo Kent, Jr., of Syracuse: $13,481.93
Katie Vashchisin, of Geddes: $13,011.40
Lisann Hart, of Syracuse: $12,103.94
James Olsen, of Mattydale: $11,999.18
Latoya Jackson, of Dewitt: $11,841.39
Freddie Crawford, of Syracuse: $11,762.18
John and Laurie Briggs, of Camillus, $11,696.13
Theresa Alt, of North Syracuse: $11,099.00
Jillane Vann, of Memphis: $10,532.93
David and Amanda Fey, of Syracuse: $10,315.30
Sheri Cartner, of Syracuse: $9,864.75
Margaret Zreviec, of Jordan: $9,157.00
Sarah Testa, of Manlius: $8,869.60
Nathan Russell, of North Syracuse: $8,422.00
Omar Ahmed, of Syracuse: $8,390.00
Amanda Gianni, of Syracuse: $8,026.00
Patricia Hunter-Fox, of Syracuse: $7,889.00
Robin Dwyerterchowitz, of Syracuse: $7,790.00
Derrick Dudley, of Syracuse: $7,427.00
Lisa Dungey, of Syracuse: $7,230.32
Markeisha Frayer, of Solvay: $5,587.51
Peter Salmon, of Tully: $5,496.00

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.