Malloy: State Employees Defrauded Federal Food Assistance Program
by Christine Stuart | Dec 4, 2011 4:38pm
(18) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Courts, Health Care, Labor, State Capitol
(Updated 4:14 p.m.) They lined up by the thousands after Tropical Storm Irene in the hopes of obtaining $200 to $1,200 in federal food assistance, but not everyone who received the benefits qualified for the program. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Sunday that about 800 of the 23,000 applicants were state employees and an unknown number of them may have committed fraud in applying and receiving federal funds.
“If we find out if state employees or anyone else for that matter used the occurrence of Tropical Storm Irene as an opportunity to defraud the disaster funding program the consequences it will have will be immediate and severe,” Malloy said.
“For state employees that means termination and prosecution,” he added.
He said while there are undoubtedly many state employees who qualify for the program there are “more than a few” who did not qualify and received benefits. He said the alleged improprieties were discovered by Department of Social Services Commissioner Roderick Bremby as he reviewed the payout of $12.4 million in federal disaster assistance.
Malloy said his chief legal counsel reached out to state and federal prosecutors on Thursday to make them aware of the situation.
He said the review of the 800 state employees is not complete so he can’t say which state departments they work in, but there’s no one involved in the administration of the program suspected of gaming the system. None of the state employees suspected of fraud have been contacted.
Malloy said that state employees were among those who applied for food assistance funds, and listed incomes on their applications that were lower than what state records indicated. Successful applicants received a debit card with funds for food assistance. The one-time benefits, which ranged from $200 to $1,200, were given to the individuals depending on their income and the number of people living in their home.
Take-home income and liquid assets for the period from Aug. 27 to Sept. 25 could not exceed $2,186 for a single person; $2,847 for a household of two; $3,272 for a household of three; $3,859 for a household of four; $4,254 for a household of five; $4,753 for a household of six; $5,116 for a household of seven; and $5,479 for a household of eight.
The average benefit given out to the 23,000 who applied for the program was $684.
“We operated the program by the federal rules, which did not require any immediate verification of income or assets,” Bremby said.
Andrew McDonald, Malloy’s chief legal counsel, said the program was developed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and is based on the premise that any delay “could substantially hurt people who are in immediate need of benefits.”
He said the Department of Social Services brought in personnel to help administer the program.
This was the first time the state ran the program and it initially thought it would get about 3,800 people lining up for assistance, so it was taken by surprise from 23,000 showed up at its 12 regional offices.
Bremby admitted Sunday that “the demand was much higher than anticipated,” but thinks his department did a wonderful job in administering the program. “However, our ongoing investigations are underscoring the point that federal acceptance of the ‘self-declaration’ of income and assets makes the program more vulnerable to fraud,” he said.
According to Claudette Bealieu, Bremby’s deputy commissioner, the state was the only entity allowed to distribute the funds under the federal guidelines, so it was prohibited from bringing in its community partners to assist.
Anyone already receiving food stamps received a bump in their monthly allowance to compensate them for food lost during the storm. This program was for low, or moderate income individuals and families who aren’t currently receiving state assistance.
Beaulieu said the agency’s community partners were able to help them spread the word about the program which was administered until Sept. 27.
Malloy said he was “angry” and “disturbed” because it’s allegations of state employees defrauding the system. He called the rare Sunday press conference because he didn’t want to hear criticism that he’s “not personally taking this seriously.”
Malloy is leaving for the Democratic Governors Association meeting in California and won’t be in the state for the next few days, and he wanted to get the news out before he left.
“We should be grateful to the dedicated state employees within the DSS fraud unit who put Connecticut taxpayers first, as they always do, through their investigative work on the disaster funding program,” Matt O’Connor, spokesman for CSEA/ SEIU Local 2001, said Monday in a statement. “This should serve as a reminder about the need for more DSS fraud investigators to safeguard our tax dollars, especially in these troubled times.”
“We would also caution against hysteria. According to initial reports, 800 of the 23,000 applicants were state employees, many of them eligible for federal food assistance because of the number of family members they support on their middle-class incomes,” O’Connor added. “Any Connecticut citizen, whether employed by the state or not, who deliberately committed fraud should and will be held accountable. We will await the outcome of the state’s investigation before making further comment.”
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said people are innocent until proven guilty, but if any of those state employees are indeed guilty “I am disappointed beyond words.”
“To abuse this program it is not only a crime, it is nothing less than moral outrage,” Wyman added. “I know every other state employee is as disappointed as I am.”
Tags: food stamps, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, income, state employees, fraud, Department of Social Services, Roderick Bremby
(18) Comments
posted by: NOW What? | December 4, 2011 6:50pm
The income tax return of EVERY such aid recipient needs to be checked - not just State employees. ALL who applied for and received it fraudulently will need to be prosecuted - again, not just State employees - and those who did so and are State employees will need to be fired as well - REGARDLESS of whether or not they turn out to be managers or rank-and-file. I’m sure - I HOPE - that the majority of fraudulent applications were not from State employees.
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | December 4, 2011 6:52pm
But will it mean 800 pensions and their earned credits removed from the books?
posted by: ... | December 4, 2011 7:07pm
Fraud was expected, or at least foretasted by some when this program was released, as many scammers take advantage of times of crisis in order to get a few bucks. But it is obviously disturbing and angering when the people who are apart of the state and are connected to those who developed this aid found a way to get what others actually needed to recover.
I sincerely hope all state/non-state offenders are caught and duly exposed for their inconsiderate actions against the state and the people of CT who suffered during Irene.
posted by: ... | December 4, 2011 9:44pm
(forecast*. ‘forecasted’ is not a word, but spell check automatically changed it on me with noticing.)
And no GoatBoy, just because 800 state workers applied and received aid from a devastating storm does not mean all 800 are guilty. Though I’m not even sure what your goal is with that statement: justice, or a reduced workforce/pension payment system?
The number has not been be specified (with no completed investigation yet), but it was clearly stated at the press conference by Malloy that this was not a blanket attack on public/private state workers.
State workers don’t receive special help during natural disasters just because they are state workers. They go through the same system of recovery and aid that the rest of us seek out.
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | December 5, 2011 5:07am
JonesAC12,
The pension point was to address the Eddie Perez type of complaints—that public service criminals need to forfeit pensions as well as termination.
A fraud investigation in Hartford will be interesting as pertains to Hartford City Workers and local nonprofits recieving state and federal funds.
posted by: Hoosier@CT | December 5, 2011 7:04am
While I agree that the state employee’s that participated in this fraud should be punished, the state had better throw a wider net than just the state employee’s or there is going to be a legal battle brewing. Singling out just the state employee’s would just be an added abuse to the state employee’s of the list already built by the current govenor.
posted by: redman | December 5, 2011 11:11am
I sure most of the people did not qualify. Another kick in the a** to the tax payers.
posted by: Careful | December 5, 2011 12:35pm
Our costly, free-loader voting crowd, cashed in -without blinking an eye!
It’s no wonder that our country is broke!
posted by: ... | December 5, 2011 1:13pm
Oh that’s right! Good point. That ruling does still boggle me a bit and should be contractually revised. But then again, billion CEOs of failing companies still get to leave as public criminals (very few actually prosecuted however), but with their golden parachutes.
THis might affect non-profits, but I’m certain Bremby or Malloy clarified that this particular federal program could only be dispersed through state departments like DSS.
posted by: NOW What? | December 5, 2011 1:52pm
I have a feeling that when all is said and done, the total number of State employees who obtained this emergency aid fraudulently - if any at all - will turn out to be truly miniscule at most. I know Gov. Malloy truly means well, but I wish he wouldn’t be quite so quick with publicly stated accusations and instead would wait to make such announcements until relevant investigations are COMPLETED. He did the same thing when he prematurely announced that he expected Northeast Utilities/CL & P to have engaged in some degree of “malfeasance”... and when the investigations were completed no such malfeasance was found, leaving him with egg on his face…
posted by: Matt W. | December 5, 2011 1:52pm
Wow, I’m really shocked that these folks, a number of whom have made their living by scamming the system, actually scammed the system. Who could have seen that one coming?
I can’t wait to see Dan’s “Home Alone” face when he finds out that the same people have scammed his EIC program. Stay tuned for that Shocker!
posted by: oliviahuxtable | December 5, 2011 5:46pm
I knew this issue would cause hysteria among rabid state employee-haters….have you read some of the comments on blogs, especially the Courant? If any state employees are hunted down and harmed, this will be a travesty…..it will be interesting to see how many of these fraudulent claims actually ARE state workers…..and when they see how few, compared to the number if state employees, will any of these horrible “anti-state-ites” acknowledge that the vast, vast majority of state workers did NOT file fraudulent claims? Of ourse not! Malloy feeds into it with his hatred of state workers….well, he feeds into it when he not being wined and dined by posh Beverly Hills glitterati.
posted by: newview | December 5, 2011 8:42pm
Oh God! I’m getting a kick out of some of the proceedings here. “Moral Outrage”...I’m just LOL at some of this stuff..really! Give me a break ...moral outrage…like some of the stuff that has occurred in this state and across the country…with the financial meltdown…where are these stuffy politicians with the moral outrage response when the government/politicians are responsible for this nonsense? And better yet…what do they do with it?? They pardon all the potential guilty parties…wake up people!!! google it!!
What is truly a moral outrage is that the likes of John Rowland has a platform available to him to say anything about anybody resigning….or say anything AT ALL! I swear, I don’t want to believe that Connecticut is full of dopes with insatiable appetites for abuse…really….I just don’t get it! This is home…tell me it isn’t so!!??
But you wait for Dannel’s claw-back of the dismissal and prosecution position. He spoke way too soon…now let’s wait for this thing to writhe through the typical political twists and turns ...and oh… we can’t fire this one…that one…etc…wait for it…it’s as sure as political double talk.
posted by: Careful | December 6, 2011 3:47pm
Based on viewing huge crowds in line—going to the New Haven Welfare Office to claim this money—we have too many people receiving welfare assistance—who spend days in lines to get A $684. average hand-out—in government freebee checks. Why can’t these people be put to work—doing some form of public service for their money, as in the Great Depression? We are continually promoting more “parasites on society” to get in line for FREE MONEY—from a country already in a virtual state of bankruptcy.
God bless America, but the ACLU is opposed to GOD, also. Prayers must be said in private, not in public.
We are buried morally and monetarily. It’s no wonder our country is on a downward slide, lacking a real boss in the house, with our elected leadership.
posted by: Matt W. | December 6, 2011 4:38pm
newview: who’s morally outraged? I have no more moral outrage for these people than I would for a burgler who stole my money. I’m not outraged over his lack of morals. I’m mad that he stole my money!
posted by: lkulmann | December 6, 2011 8:24pm
Life circumstances made it necessary for my disabled son and myself to navigate the grossly dysfunctional DSS. This truly is the tip of the iceberg…I hope the Commissioner does the right thing…
posted by: Careful | December 7, 2011 4:23pm
This federal program was a fraud. It encouraged our welfare crowd to get in line to get more “free money.” Unlike WPA in the Great Depression, when we start making our too numerous free-loaders, get off their fannies, and require them to perform public service for their money?
Shame on our elected officials—who have allowed such a frivolously designed welfare-type-program fly—ENCOURAGING FRAUD!