Local News in Brief : Welfare Fraud Alleged
A man and woman accused of using out-of-state birth certificates of dead people and altered baptismal certificates to create fictitious families allegedly defrauded the Los Angeles County welfare system of more than $100,000, according to the district attorney’s office.
Richard O’Neal Jones, 41, his girlfriend, Barbara Ann Harris, 34, and another woman allegedly opened eight illegal welfare cases using at least five fictitious families, as well as their own.
They were arraigned Thursday, Jones on 15 felony counts and Harris on 11, most involving welfare fraud and perjury. Both pleaded innocent.
“As a result of their welfare income, Jones and Harris jointly purchased a house in Lancaster for $108,900 and Harris bought a second house in the same city for $93,900,” Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner said. Harris operated a day-care center out of one of the homes, he said.
A third suspect, Doreen Shanks, 31, of Baltimore pleaded guilty earlier this week to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit welfare fraud, Reiner said.
According to Reiner, Jones “lured” Shanks to California through a “lonely hearts” newspaper ad. “Once she arrived, he promised to get her a legitimate job; and when that failed to materialize he encouraged her to get involved in the welfare scheme,” Reiner said.
If convicted, Jones and Harris face up to nine years in prison.
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