More than a dozen welfare cheats bilked taxpayers out of nearly $2 million in ill-gotten public benefits, New Jersey prosecutors said Wednesday.
Six Lakewood residents were arrested late Tuesday night after eight others from the same south Jersey town got pinched on Monday, according the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, leading a joint local-federal probe.
“The nature of the criminal events and basic charges allege that the defendants misrepresented their income, declaring amounts that were low enough to receive the program’s benefits when in fact their income was too high,” according to a statement by county prosecutors.
Three married couples busted on Tuesday were:
- Yitzchock Kanarek, 33, and Sora Kanarek, 39, who are accused of wrongfully receiving $339,002.56 in Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security and HUD benefits between January 2009 and July 2014.
- Chaim Ehrman, 40, and Liatt Ehrman, 39, who allegedly scammed their way into $185,692 in Medicaid, food stamps, home -energy supplements and Hurricane Sandy benefits between January 2011 through December, 2015.
- William Friedman, 45, and Faigy Friedman, 40, who are accused of reeling in $149,842 in Medicaid, home -energy supplements and HUB benefits in between January, 2011, and December, 2015.
A day earlier, eight Lakewood residents were busted in similar scams that bilked taxpayers of about $1.2 million, authorities said.