A lot of work goes into harvesting crops – a farmer has to prepare the soil for planting, the crops have to be watered and protected from pests, and then the produce has to be picked in a timely fashion so that the farmer can reap a good price for their yield. A story published in the Oroville Mercury Register tells about a man who harvested nearly $20,000 from the welfare system over 25 years while working as a farm labor contractor.
The story says that the farm laborer and his girlfriend did not report his income for nearly two-and-a-half years while working in California. (He was able to evade investigators because during each harvest season, he used different names and Social Security numbers to hide his crime.) The farm laborer defrauded the welfare system of $19,135 during that time period.
The 55-year-old man and his 44-year-old girlfriend were both convicted of welfare fraud and received a combination of jail time and probation for their illegal acts. The man got 240 days in county jail to be followed by three years of probation, while the woman received 120 days in jail plus 40 hours of community service. (Perhaps, she’ll have to harvest some crops as part of her punishment.) They were both ordered to pay restitution.
The article states that the man had been receiving welfare support for 25 years while being investigated for suspected fraud. After special investigators were brought in to work on the case, the evidence allowed the government to finally harvest a few more fraudsters.
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