A Circuit Court judge convicted a 41-year-old Honolulu woman of first-degree theft for fraudulently obtaining more than $160,000 in welfare benefits by concealing that her minor children were not living with her and were being cared for by her parents. Honolulu woman gets
1 year for welfare fraud
Star-Bulletin staff
Judge Michael Town sentenced Deborah Pudiquet on Aug. 30 to a year in jail and five years' probation and ordered her to pay restitution to the state. If Pudiquet is accepted into a drug treatment program, the jail term is subject to reconsideration.
Pudiquet received public assistance benefits for more than six years beginning in 1995.
Pudiquet, a first-time offender and mother of five, admitted she would probably test positive for marijuana, alcohol and methamphetamine.
Other welfare fraud cases include:
>> A former Pearl City resident voluntarily returned to Hawaii on Aug. 29 after she was arrested in San Diego for one count of second-degree theft for fraudulently obtaining more than $19,000 in welfare benefits during 1999 and 2000 while living on Oahu.
Valerie Lepisi, 28, pleaded no contest to the charge and was allowed to return to San Diego until her Feb. 5 sentencing.
Lepisi hid the fact that the father of her minor children lived with her and was employed, according to a release by the state Department of the Attorney General.
Lepisi's return to Hawaii at her own expense saved the state extradition expenses, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Under state law, the court can require the extradited person to pay extradition costs, which can be substantial.
>> An Oahu grand jury charged Honolulu resident Satako Etse, 36, with one count of theft in the second degree for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $300 in welfare benefits between 1999 and 2001.
Etse pleaded not guilty. Trial is set for Oct. 28.
>> A 44-year-old Waianae woman had her probation revoked for fraudulently obtaining more than $20,000 in public assistance payments.
Judge Karl Sakamoto resentenced Althia Chandler to a new five-year probation and 32 days in jail with credit for time served.
Chandler was sentenced Jan. 8 to five years' probation. When she failed to report for scheduled appointments with her probation officer, the state asked the court to have her probation revoked.
