 
the number food stamp fraud
investigations and prosecutions in New
York City has reached a peak number
if you are investigated for food stamp
fraud in New York and you want answers
stay with me.  My name is Alice Lee
I'm attorney at the law office of
Joseph Potashnik & Associates
and today we will talk about food stamps 
investigations in New York City
what triggers an investigation and
of course how we can help
you
Income means your household's total gross
monthly income before tax
and withholding are subtracted.  You
should disclose
all types of income including the income of anyone who lives with you or
supports you
and any money that you receive from
anyone
they are many ways the government can
find out about under-reported income
mostly through the many computer
databases are various
agencies share
at some point you'll receive a
letter
ordering you to come in for an interview
now
this is the crucial point what do you do
when you get the letter
with always tell our clients and they
should seek legal advice before speaking
with
any investigators making statements to
them
won't help you at all but it can hurt
you in many ways
now why am I saying this many people ask
but the letter says I have to tell the
answer is No
you don't have to speak with any
investigators
there's no such obligation but if you
speak with them
you'll make self-incriminating
statements that will be used against you in
court
speaking with fraud investigator is no
different than speaking with
any other law enforcement agents their
job is to get the
evidence against you before moving the
case on
so if your case is about misrepresenting
your income
it is largely a paper case easy to prove
and there's not much you can say that
will help you whether you intentionally
misrepresent your income
or made it honest mistake reading the
application
the really only care that it was done so
how can we help you many of our clients
make mistakes in applying for government
programs because they didn't really
understand the reporting obligations
or they relied on other people's advice
even though the offense is done when you
submit the application with the false
information
a good lawyer should always try to
prevent criminal prosecution
this is always our primary goal and your
best case scenario
we have handled hundreds a public
benefit fraud cases
helping our clients avoid prosecution
but even if you are arrested and
prosecuted
we can still minimize your criminal
exposure
let me give you an example last year we
had a client who was arrested for
misrepresenting her income on her
food stamp application
her income close to seventy thousand
dollars and she collected close to nine
thousand dollar
food stamp benefits for herself and her
kids she was charged
with several felony charges including
grand larceny
welfare fraud and filing of a false business document
unfortunately for her she had a green
card she was not a US citizen
making a very likely she would face
deportation
the case was very straightforward there
was no defense strong enough to go to
trial
what we managed to do was work out a
plea agreement with the DA
that allow the client to pay restitution
before she pled guilty
when she did plead guilty it was to
a reduced misdemeanor
attempt count she was sentenced a
conditional discharge
meaning that the case was closed this
allowed her to avoid a conviction
of an aggravated felony and probably a
crime of moral turpitude
so she could have a better chance to
avoid deportation
however this is an extreme example and
in all public benefits fraud investigation
a good lawyer shit always try to resolve
the case without drama
it you have more questions about your
food stamp fraud investigation
I want you to pick up the phone and call
us today so we can help you
 
