Dear friend,
Last week, an Arlington woman was arrested on four counts of welfare fraud for collecting over $100,000 in benefits – all while her husband was earning $1.5 million per year as an attorney in D.C.!
Police say a six-month investigation into Helen Agbapuruonwu, 41, found that the mother of four had collected benefits like food stamps and Medicaid assistance for the past six years.
According to court documents, her husband, Fidelis Agbapuruonwu, was working for the D.C. firm of Mayer Brown, after a 2001 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship (Paul was George Soros' older brother) helped him pay his way through law school. The firm said he no longer works there, and court officials believe Fidelis, a Nigerian immigrant, has “fled the country and is somewhere in Africa.”
My HB 2092 requires any applicant for public assistance to undergo a full review of death records, incarceration status, employment status, lottery winnings, and all income. Gov. McAuliffe should sign my bill to help prevent this type of welfare fraud!
My legislation and budget funding ensures that the local departments have access to data on the applicant's household income through the IRS and Social Security Administration, as well as several other official data sources. Because these records will be verified by checking official records, fraudulent payments will be avoided and those limited funds can instead be utilized by families that are truly in need.
Some have asked if this legislation is necessary; in fact, most Democrats voted against it. Similar laws in other states have found millions of dollars of fraud:
- Illinois audited their Medicaid program and found over 14,000 deceased people on Medicaid rolls.
- Arkansas took a look at their Medicaid rolls and found 3% were ineligible.
Sincerely,
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