State v. Mr. T (DMC No. 13272) – Felony Benefits Fraud ($2,000 Misappropriated from AHCCCS and SNAP) and Felony Fraudulent Schemes – Not Charged – Arizona Attorney General’s Office and Department of Economic Security Investigated (Case No. 20XX-XXXXX3).
Mr. T had been unemployed for 16 months due to a degenerative disc disease and he had been receiving medication and treatment. He sold his home in Colorado and moved to Arizona. When he arrived, he applied for benefits under AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System) and for food stamps under SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). When he applied, he failed to disclose that he had one bank account with $3,000, a second one with $17,000, and a third one with $88,000 (which was the result of the sale of his home in Colorado). He also applied for Social Security Disability benefits and was denied.
An Investigator with the Department of Economic Security contacted him about these other accounts and an investigation was opened. Mr. T hired our firm and we then became involved and we pulled all the documentation he had filled out when he originally applied for benefits. We were able to show by way of a neuropsychological evaluation that Mr. T had dyslexia, a somewhat lower I.Q. and did not fully understand the forms he was filling out. Ultimately, DES also got the Attorney General’s Office involved, however, we were able to convince both of them not to file any charges against Mr. T. Originally, he was facing a very serious felony, but he now has no charges on his record.