GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BUSTED For HUGE WELFARE FRAUD – HER PUNISHMENT? … BRUTAL!
NJ1015| There’s always that individual who thinks they’re to clever and will get away with committing fraud, especially if it involves the bureaucratic operation of government, in that like most government entities the technology is usually a decade or two behind.
And perhaps that was what Tonia Ramaza-Williams was counting on when she decided to scam the system. The former New Jersey state worker decided to falsify her employment records so she could collect additional government assistance benefits, in short scamming the state’s welfare system to the tune of more than $82,000.
The 40-year old Willingboro resident hatched the scheme when she discovered after applying for welfare benefits that she was earning too much as a state worker, and decided to falsify her employment earnings so she could qualify for the various welfare programs offered.
The scam involved using her job as head clerk at a state’s Children and Families Department office in Mercer County, where she apparently altered her documents to support her claims that she was earning less than what she was actually earning, and claiming welfare benefits from 2009-2013.
However the scam was uncovered and now the former state worker is heading off to prison to serve out a 3-year sentence moreover the Willingboro resident must pay back full restitution, for the money she scammed, which will amount to $82,769.
Ramaza-Williams pleaded guilty last November to theft by using her job as head clerk to at an unlawful taking. She admitted using her job as head clerk to fraudulently claim benefits.
Remarkably the state of New Jersey has a dubious history of corrupt politicians especially within the state capital of Trenton, however perhaps that title is misplaced in that in recent findings New Jersey actually ranked better than its reputation, with good governance and relatively low official misconduct.
Moreover besides New Jersey several other states scored well including Georgia, Maine, Michigan and North Dakota.