Baldwin woman charged with illegally receiving almost $100,000 in day care benefits
Nassau County’s Department of Health and Social Services in Uniondale. Credit: Newsday
Nassau County prosecutors charged a Baldwin woman Wednesday with illegally receiving about $100,000 in day care benefits from the county Department of Social Services, officials said.
Shamika Brown, 43, surrendered to district attorney investigators Wednesday, and was charged with seven felonies, including grand larceny and welfare fraud, after prosecutors said she falsified her income records to receive more than $99,000 in benefits for her three children.
Brown applied for day care benefits in 2019, claiming $25,000 in benefits from a salon, Hair Studio, in Brooklyn, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors said she received benefits for four years until an audit found she failed to disclose income she had earned from American Express, Amazon and consulting work, ranging between $128,000 and $319,000 from 2019 through 2023.
Her actual income exceeded the threshold that would have entitled her to be considered for child care benefits, the release said.
"Nassau County’s social services benefits exist to help families who truly need financial support, not high-earning residents who dishonestly try to offset their child care costs," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.
Investigators said Brown submitted earnings from a business with an ADP Payroll Services logo, but the earnings were fraudulent and the hair salon was not a real business. The address listed was for a different salon, where she never worked, prosecutors said.
Brown pleaded not guilty during her arraignment Wednesday in Nassau County Court, to charges of grand larceny, welfare fraud and five counts of offering a false instrument for filing, according to court records.
She was released on her own recognizance and ordered to return to court Oct. 9. If convicted, she could face 5 to 15 years in prison.
Her attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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