In an early morning sweep, county and state investigators arrested 15 of 32 criminal defendants with outstanding warrants accused of collectively pocketing more than a quarter of a million dollars in fraudulent public assistance payments.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said he was pleased with the outcome of the joint agency arrest sweep, lauding investigators of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services and the State of California Department of Health Care Services.
“Public assistance fraud is especially despicable in this economic climate in which federal and state budget cuts have increased the vulnerability of needy, elderly and disabled individuals,” Cooley said. “Truly needy people may go without as a direct result of a few greedy criminals.”
This morning, investigators made arrests in the cities of Bellflower, Lancaster, Long Beach and Los Angeles and in the unincorporated community of Littlerock. One arrest also was made in San Bernardino County in the city of Chino Hills. Five defendants surrendered.
Among those facing welfare fraud charges is 45-year-old T Birdsong of Los Angeles (dob 12/09/66), who allegedly stole nearly $38,000 between 2007 and 2011.
Birdsong is accused of defrauding In Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a program for the elderly and disabled. The defendant, who was a provider, allegedly received payment for a woman who had been dead since 2009. Birdsong, a provider for multiple IHSS recipients, additionally received more than $17,000 in food stamps and more than $18,000 from CalWORKS – a welfare program of cash aid and services for eligible families – by failing to report her IHSS income.
Birdsong is charged with 16 felony counts including grand theft of personal property, presentation of fraudulent claim and perjury by declaration in case No. BA387034. The criminal complaint additionally alleges a 1987 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, not a firearm, with great bodily injury.
Also charged are R. Peoples, 54 (dob 7/10/57), of Van Nuys, and C. Luna, 50 (dob 6/17/61), of Chino Hills.
Peoples, an IHSS recipient whose provider died more than two years ago, is accused of forging his provider’s signature for the purpose of fraudulently billing IHSS and cashing almost $20,500 in payments. He is charged with 32 counts including grand theft of personal property, presentation of fraudulent claim and forgery. The complaint further alleges two prior convictions from 1982 and 1977 for first-degree residential burglary.
Luna is charged with one count of grand theft of personal property and 47 counts of forgery for allegedly engaging in IHSS fraud. Luna is accused of fraudulently listing her sister as an IHSS provider for herself, her husband and her son. The defendant’s sister, however, never was a provider for any of them and was unaware of the fraudulent dealings that purportedly netted Luna more than $13,300.
Birdsong, Peoples and Luna are expected to be arraigned Wednesday, Dec. 14, in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Bail is recommended at $265,000 for Birdsong, $340,000 for Peoples and $960,000 for Luna.
In 2011, prosecutors of the Public Assistance Fraud Division filed felony complaints against 108 defendants for IHSS theft which alone accounted for a total loss of more than $710,000. These defendants also were charged with theft from other public assistance programs amounting to a total loss of more than $1.5 million.
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