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SALINAS — 27-year-old Sylvia Flores will serve 40 days in jail and 3 years of formal probation for welfare fraud at the ruling of Judge Andrew Liu.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office reports that, between March 2015 and February 2016, Flores collected community benefits for her minor child, whom she claimed was living with her full time.
To provide adequate support for the child, she was given cash aid via CalWorks and food stamps via CalFresh, based on her claimed living situation.
The Monterey County Department of Social Services (MCDSS) then learned that the child had been living with a relative in another county. The DA’s Office Welfare Fraud unit began an investigation and determined that this was true.
Flores was arrested in May of this year and formally charged with welfare fraud, having collected an estimated $6,932 in benefits.
In addition to jail and probation, she is also ordered to pay full restitution to the MCDSS.
