Headlines 14 April 2015

Highland County recognized for efforts to stop public assistance fraud

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During their annual Fraud Conference in March, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services presented the Highland County Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS) with its Director’s Award.

The Highland County DJFS was recognized for its 273-percent increase in food assistance fraud collection from 2013 to 2014, the largest increase in any county in the state of Ohio.

This increase is due to a coordinated effort on the part of the Highland County DJFS, the prosecutor’s office and the sheriff’s office to identify, investigate and then prosecute suspects who fraudulently obtain food assistance, child care and Medicaid benefits in Highland County.

“The sheriff’s office has a full-time investigator assigned now to Job and Family Services,” Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera said. “This allows us to focus on the kind of long-term investigations needed to pursue the theft of taxpayer dollars. Some of these investigations can take several months.”

 

Numerous fraud cases were presented to a Highland County Grand Jury in 2014, with some of those cases dating back more than three years.

“We successfully prosecuted all those cases,” Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins said. “The result was more than $38,000 in restitution ordered by the court to be paid back to Highland County taxpayers, and almost $20,000 has been collected already.”

This recognition comes in advance of the annual Public Assistance Fraud Awareness Month in May, sponsored by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Last year, a new website that makes it easier to report suspected fraud was introduced, www.jfs.ohio.gov/fraud.

“This is an excellent tool that allows anyone, anywhere to report fraud online instantly and anonymously,” Highland County Department of Job and Family Services Director Debbie Robbins said. “They can also stop in at our offices or call us at (937) 393-4278.”

Robbins reminds the public that “the buying, selling or trading of food assistance benefits is a felony offense.”

 

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