CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : 2 Sent to Prison for Welfare Fraud

Two women who masterminded the largest welfare fraud in the history of San Diego County--a scheme that cost taxpayers as much as $1 million--were sentenced to state prison. The two former welfare department employees received sentences of six and seven years. Five co-defendants were also sentenced. Victoria Clarissa Aguirre, 40, of Chula Vista and Angela M. Nieto, 48, of El Cajon pleaded guilty in June to charges of misappropriating public funds. Aguirre and Nieto had organized a group of 20 people to steal money from the welfare system by setting up phony accounts for people, authorities said.