Welfare fraud suspects arrested in Tulare County. Charges include 12 felonies, DA says
Eleven people have been arrested on suspicion of welfare fraud in Tulare County.
In total, the amount of fraud in the cases is worth $90,334, according to a statement Tuesday from the Tualre County District Attorney’s Office.
Criminal investigators from the DA’s office served 12 felony and six misdemeanor arrest warrants.
The suspects were either booked into the Tulare County Jail or cited and released. They were identified by the DA as: Ja Lee See, 35, of Visalia; Jose Cervantes, 31, of Porterville; Nasir See, 32, of Visalia; Rosa Gilley, 53, of Porterville; Delia Velasquez, 38, of Visalia; Marlo Martinez, 45, of Tulare; Loretta Hughes, 28, of Visalia; Angel Gutierrez, 41, of Tulare; Keyla Ramos, 27, of Visalia; Rosa Ruelas, 30, of Tulare; and William Gutierrez, 40, of Visalia.
The fraud in these cases involved everything from failing to report income to failing to report a change in household composition.
It is a felony to make false statements or misrepresent material facts in order to obtain more than $950 of unentitled benefits, according to the DA’s office.
In 2022 alone, the DA’s Bureau of Investigations has found $203,876 in fraudulent benefits.
