San Diego

The biggest welfare fraud case ever filed by prosecutors in San Diego County will begin Oct. 7 at the preliminary hearing for Charolette E. Olson.

Olson, 25, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of perjury and welfare fraud and was allowed to remain free on her own recognizance by Municipal Judge Larry Stirling. Prosecutors allege that Olson defrauded Medi-Cal of $77,224 in benefits.

Olson is the girlfriend of prominent San Diego restaurateur Paul Dobson, 47, who owns three San Diego restaurants: Dobson’s, La Gran Tapa and St. James Bar.

According to prosecutors, Olson and Dobson were living together when she applied for Medi-Cal benefits for their baby daughter, who is blind and was born with various health problems. In an earlier interview, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ralph Fear said Dobson fathered the child, yet Olson listed him only as a boyfriend when applying for Medi-Cal.

Fear said that, if Olson had listed Dobson as the father, Medi-Cal officials would have determined what benefits the child was eligible for based on Olson’s and Dobson’s incomes.

Dobson was not charged in the case because investigators do not have any evidence that he participated in the effort to defraud Medi-Cal.