Police: Woman Lied About Birth Of Triplets, Obtained $100,000 In State Benefits
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A woman is facing charges for falsifying documents in order to obtain more than $100,000 from benefit programs in Pennsylvania.
According to the criminal complaint, Sabrina Strothers, 23, allegedly received aid for her triplets for several years.
However, Strothers lost the triplets during pregnancy in 2008.
An investigation began in January when Strothers' cousin alerted authorities about how she was providing fraudulent information on benefit documents.
Inspector general officials checked the Social Security numbers Strothers provided for the children. That is when they found the Social Security numbers belonged to individuals born in 1887, 1945 and 1960.
Strothers applied for benefits through the Allegheny County Assistance Office on six occasions from 2012-15.
The criminal complaint also indicates that Strothers worked in Maryland for about 13 months, but claimed she was still living in Pennsylvania in order to obtain assistance from the state.
Strothers also allegedly falsified information about other jobs and internships in order to get more benefits from the state.
On Feb. 29, Strothers was interviewed by inspector general officials. During the interview, she gave a detailed timeline of events of the birth of the children to why they were supposedly now living with their father in Atlanta, Georgia.
When officials confronted her about contradicting parts of her story, Strothers admitted to falsifying information about the existence of the children.
She surrendered to police on Dec. 12. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 22.
In total, she received the following amounts from three programs:
- Medical Assistance - $89,453.56
- Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program - $37,269
- Temporary Aid to Needy Families - $2,073.90
Strothers is facing a list of charges including, theft by deception, forgery and false statements.
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