Local News in Brief : Couple Sentenced for Welfare Fraud
A North Hollywood couple who prosecutors said cheated the welfare system out of $117,464 over the last eight years were sentenced Thursday to three years in prison each.
Van Nuys Superior Court Commissioner Sherman Juster imposed the sentence on Walter Ziko, 28, and his wife, Rosie, 26, who pleaded guilty Sept. 16 to one count of perjury and one count of welfare fraud. The Zikos used several false names and a series of fraudulent children’s names to receive welfare payments, Deputy Dist. Atty. Leslie M. Kenyon said.
The Zikos were convicted of insurance fraud in San Diego County in 1983, and Walter Ziko continued to receive the welfare checks even when he was sent to state prison to undergo diagnostic studies before sentencing, authorities said.
A probation report described Walter Ziko as uncooperative and unremorseful and noted that he is concerned “about whether he can get welfare again when he’s released” from prison.
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