OJAI : Woman Receives Probation, Jail Term for Welfare Fraud
A Downey woman who admitted sending more than $7,000 in illegally obtained welfare funds to her sister in Cancun, Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday to one year in County Jail and five years probation, a deputy district attorney said.
Monica Sacramento, 28, formerly of Ojai, admitted using her Ojai address to receive welfare payments of $7,086 between September, 1991, and September, 1992, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Hendrickson.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. April 15, 1993 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday April 15, 1993 Ventura County Edition Metro Part B Page 4 Column 3 Metro Desk 1 inches; 27 words Type of Material: Correction
Wrong name--An article Tuesday misidentified the deputy district attorney who prosecuted Monica Sacramento on charges of welfare fraud. The deputy district attorney is Scott Hendrickson.
Sacramento kept more than $1,700 in food stamps and forwarded the cash to Ileana Elizabeth Lizama, who was living in Cancun, Hendrickson said.
“The welfare officials got wind of this and they observed (Lizama) fly in from Cancun at LAX, and she kept up the act” during her required yearly appearance, Hendrickson said.
Lizama, who pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and one charge of welfare fraud Nov. 3, also received a year in County Jail and five years probation, the prosecutor said.
Under terms of the sentence, Sacramento must pay restitution of $8,826.50, Hendrickson said.
“This case is demonstration to the district attorney’s aggressive commitment to prosecuting fraudulent welfare recipients,” he said.
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