9 cases of alleged welfare fraud in Nassau

Nassau social service investigators have turned over to the district attorney for prosecution nine cases of alleged welfare fraud, involving more than $250,000 in benefits, County Executive Edward Mangano has announced.

Illegally obtained payments ranged from $78,606 to an Oceanside couple who own a dry-cleaning business but did not report their true income when applying for assistance in 2004, to $1,763 to a Maryland doctor who worked full-time at Howard University in Washington, D.C., but used a Hempstead address to collect Medicaid benefits, according to a county news release on Tuesday.

An Elmont woman received $66,896 in Medicaid, cash public assistance and food stamps after claiming to be a single mother, though investigators found she lived with her two children's father and shared in his "substantial income," the release said.

Also reported was a Valley Stream couple who obtained $38,881 in Medicaid benefits over five years despite purchasing a home for nearly $600,000, a GMC truck for $38,490 and a 2011 Nissan Altima for $19,000 during that period, county officials said.

The county did not name any of those accused of fraud.

"Medicaid fraud is a crime against every taxpayer," Mangano said in the statement.

A Mangano spokeswoman said investigators have reported $1.7 million in alleged welfare fraud to the district attorney this year. Katie Grilli-Robles said prosecutors seek full restitution for the county from recipients as part of a plea deal or sentence. In 2011, the county social services department recovered about $685,000 from cases referred to the DA in 2009 or 2010 and prosecuted this year, she said.