Isle official sets record
straight on welfare fraud

The Attorney General reports
that cheaters are being caught

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Staff and news reports

State Attorney General Earl Anzai is out to dispel a myth that welfare cheats do not get caught and prosecuted.

Last year, 157 cases of suspected welfare fraud involving suspected theft of more than $3 million were referred to state and county prosecutors for criminal prosecution, he said last week. Statewide, 132 people were indicted for welfare fraud offenses, and 93 people were convicted of welfare fraud involving theft of more than $2.4 million, according to Anzai.

In two recent cases, Anzai said:

>> Gregg R. Jorgensen, also known as Philip D. Pallone and William D. Zogg, was arrested March 19 in Middlesex County, N.J., by Sayreville Police Department officers.

Jorgensen, 47, is wanted in Hawaii for one count of first-degree theft. He was indicted by an Oahu grand jury on Feb. 20 for allegedly committing theft by using fraudulent identities to obtain more than $20,000 in welfare benefits. He is expected to be returned here after extradition proceedings in New Jersey.

>> On March 12, First Circuit Court Judge Sandra A. Simms denied a motion by Faatupu Mitaina, 35, to defer acceptance of her no-contest plea to one count of first-degree theft and sentenced her to five years' probation.

The mother of six children, Mitaina also was ordered to pay the state $33,445 in restitution and perform 200 hours of community service.

For three years, Mitaina concealed from welfare officials the fact that her husband was employed and living in the home. U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service agents questioned Mitaina, a citizen of Western Samoa, after the sentencing.

Non-U.S. citizens convicted of welfare fraud, such as Mitaina, can be deported and denied re-entry into the country, the Attorney General's Office said.

In addition to those recent cases, according to the office, more than 800 people in Hawaii were sanctioned administratively last year for intentional violations of public-assistance rules that resulted in them obtaining more than $940,000 in benefits they were not legally entitled to receive.

The Attorney General's Office noted a growing number of cases where people are illegally obtaining child-care assistance money. Cases involving more than $161,000 in suspected child-care assistance fraud were referred to prosecutors last year.

Anyone with information about possible welfare fraud is asked to call the Welfare Fraud Hotline at 587-8444.