Welfare fraud

Welfare fraud refers to various intentional misuses of state welfare systems by withholding information or giving false or inaccurate information. This may be done in small, uncoordinated efforts, or in larger, organized criminal rings. Some common types of welfare fraud are failing to report a household member, failure to report income, or providing false information about the "inability" to work. There have been cases of people feigning illness in conjunction with welfare fraud.

In practice, welfare fraud tends to involve acquiring welfare benefits that are undeserved. Either the recipient is collecting benefits under her own name but does not actually qualify for the benefits, or she is collecting the benefit on behalf of someone who is not actually going to receive the funds.

Welfare fraud can be quite extensive. As an example, a woman who has four or five children and has spaced the births over the course of a decade could be fraudulently collecting welfare payments for twenty-five years or more. In every U.S. state, the penalty for extensive welfare fraud over a period of years is prison. Some states offer large rewards for reporting those who are guilty of years of welfare fraud.

Religions groups such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Peoples Temple have been accused of bringing in a great deal of money by taking the welfare checks of their members.

Welfare fraud is criticized by welfare advocates for making fewer funds available to those who were intended to receive them. Welfare fraud is criticized by opponents of welfare in general for creating situations where taxpayers subsidize instances of middle-class or even lavish living by criminals. The terms welfare queen and welfare Cadillac are pejoratives terms related to welfare fraud.

Welfare fraud has also been criticized for its role in modeling criminal behavior in children, many of whom may act out by taking drugs, becoming sexually abusive, crossing state lines to flee prosecution, engaging in welfare fraud themselves, or committing other crimes and frauds.

The punishment for welfare fraud varies by jurisdiction. In the United States, punishment for the first offense may be as mild as suspension of welfare privileges for a year, but can include fines, jail time, and capital punishment.