East Waterboro Woman Gets 90 Days In Jail for Welfare Fraud

October 15, 2008

Attorney General Steve Rowe announced that the Superior Court has imposed a two year sentence on April Archer, for her theft of welfare benefits by deception. Archer, 41 years old, of East Waterboro, Maine, was sentenced on Friday, October 10, 2008, in Superior Court in Alfred to two years incarceration with all but 90 days suspended, one year probation, and payment of restitution.

?With a national recession looming, need based programs such as TANF and food stamps are essential to many Maine families who are struggling in difficult economic times,? Rowe said. ?Dishonest applicants who seek to defraud public benefit programs are stealing from both taxpayers, who financially support the system, and honest recipients, who rely on the support the programs provide.?

Archer obtained the benefits from the Department of Health and Human Services by concealing the fact that she was employed and earning income. As a result of that fraud, she received $2,878.00 in Temporary Aid to Needy Families (?TANF?) and Food Stamp benefits for which she was not eligible. Archer?s fraud occurred between January and July of 2006 and was discovered when DHHS personnel crosschecked the information provided to the agency by Archer with information gathered by the Maine Department of Labor. The Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit of DHHS investigated this case and referred it to the Attorney General?s Office for criminal prosecution.

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NEWS RELEASE October 15, 2008 David Loughran, (207) 626-8577