Freeport woman fraudulently got $130,000 in public assistance, DA says

A Freeport woman has been indicted on grand larceny and welfare fraud charges for allegedly receiving more than $130,000 in benefits to which she was not entitled, as well as separate insurance fraud charges, Nassau officials said.

Angelique White, 32, of Freeport improperly received more than $130,000 in Medicaid and child care benefits between 2017 and 2021, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced Friday.

On yearly New York State Health Benefits Exchange applications submitted between August 2017 and June 2020, White allegedly listed her annual incomes in the range of $0 to $24,000 and began receiving Medicaid benefits for herself and her two children, according to the district attorney.

In August 2019 and July 2020, White also applied for and received Child Care Assistance benefits for her two kids, Donnelly’s office said.

On the benefit applications, White listed her biweekly pay of $995 from her employment with the U.S. Postal Service, plus hourly wages of $16.00 she earned at Northwell Core Labs.

White did not report any rental income in her applications, according to Donnelly. However, a Nassau County Department of Social Services Office of Investigations review of White’s finances and Nassau County land records revealed she co-owned two residences, one in Freeport and another in Elmont.

By allegedly underreporting her income, White was overpaid $92,730 in Medicaid benefits and $39,771 in child care benefits, according to Donnelly’s office.

"In yet another alleged scam," White submitted "illegitimate" documents to Geico as proof of residence in an apartment in Oswego "to avoid paying higher downstate insurance premiums" on her 2017 Infiniti, Donnelly said in a statement. White allegedly underpaid Geico more than $11,000 in insurance premiums.

White surrendered to district attorney detective investigators on Thursday, according to Donnelly’s office. That same day, she pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree welfare fraud, third-degree welfare fraud, third-degree insurance fraud and two counts of third-degree grand larceny before Judge Robert Pipia at Nassau County District Court in Hempstead, court records indicate.

She is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 16 and faces up to 5 to 15 years in prison if convicted, according to the district attorney.

When reached for comment Friday evening, Ray Baierlein, the lead defense attorney representing White, said fraud cases such as hers "are complex."

"What the prosecutors and the police claim … sometimes doesn’t add up when you do a full accounting," Baierlein said. He added that applications for benefits "are sometimes complicated or convoluted. You can unintentionally run afoul of what’s required to be disclosed, even if you didn’t intend to do so."