Job and Family Services distributed nearly $37 million in assistance in 2017, and overpayments represented less than one one-hundredth of a percent of funds given out, officials said.
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The money given to those who purposefully provide false information in order to receive increased benefits accounts for an even smaller percentage, but the county department says it takes every fraud case seriously.
Job and Family Services will be raising awareness about the consequences of fraud during May as part of the state’s Public Assistance Fraud Awareness campaign.
Major overpayments came from SNAP, the food nutrition program formerly known as food stamps, Ohio Works First and Medicaid.
In September 2017, two Springfield women were indicted for taking food stamps from a special needs person, a fifth degree felony with a potential penalty of up to 18 months in jail. The food stamp card was found by one woman, which she traded to another woman for cocaine.
“Fraud is a serious issue in our community,” said Clark County Job and Family Services Director Virginia Martycz. “Our staff works hard every day to ensure we’re protecting taxpayer dollars.”
Martycz said it’s possible for people to receive overpayments by mistake, but there is a small portion of people who will try to cheat the system.
“It’s important for the public to know we don’t just indiscriminately hand out monies,” she said. “We do have a system where we go back and double check things and we ensure that the monies have been handled with integrity.”
The department said it has strengthened its relationships with local and state law enforcement to combat fraudulent use of public funds.
Failure to report life circumstances accurately can result in criminal charges, program disqualification or repayment of benefits issued improperly.
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Clark County’s Department of Job and Family Services also processes claims for neighboring Madison County. The county had significantly less fraud complaints than Clark County in 2017.
“We do depend upon the public in Clark County to help keep our system straight,” Martycz said.
Clark County residents may report public assistance fraud by calling the department’s hotline at 937-327-1701 or reporting at jfs.ohio.gov/fraud.
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