Figure in Jackson Case Faces Welfare Fraud Trial

The woman whose son claimed Michael Jackson molested him at Neverland ranch was ordered Friday to stand trial on felony charges that she stole $8,000 from the government through welfare fraud.

The 37-year-old woman waived her right to a preliminary hearing during an appearance in Los Angeles County Superior Court and was set for arraignment June 21 on one count of welfare fraud and four counts of perjury by falsely applying for welfare.

She answered “yes” when asked by the prosecutor if she waived her rights. She was released without bail.

The woman did not speak to reporters as she left and a call to her attorney seeking comment was not returned.

Her name is being withheld to protect the identity of her son because he has claimed to be a molestation victim.

Jackson was acquitted of the child molestation charges last year. Many jurors said a lack of credibility on the part of the woman and her children on the witness stand were major factors in their verdicts.

During the trial in Santa Maria, the woman invoked 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination on the welfare fraud issue and did not testify about it.

“I’ve had a lot of pressure from Michael Jackson fans to send her to jail,” prosecutor James Baker said outside court. He said he has explained that prison usually is not the sentence in first-time welfare fraud cases involving small amounts of money and denied the woman was getting preferential treatment.

“We try to treat everyone equally,” he said.

Prosecutors claim the woman fraudulently collected $18,782 in welfare payments between November 2001 and March 2003, failing to disclose she received a $150,000 settlement of a lawsuit against a department store chain.

But the amount of the alleged fraud was dropped to $8,000 because the government received money back in the form of payments made by the father of her son, Baker said.

While each charge is punishable by up to three or four years in prison, Baker said that if the woman were convicted it would be her first offense and she probably would be sentenced to three years’ probation and repayment of the money.

He also said plea-agreement negotiations with her attorney continued.