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Former Madera County Welfare Benefits Employee Arrested for Improperly Using Other People’s Identities to Steal Benefits
Justice.gov ^ | 12/12/2025

Posted on 12/22/2025 9:02:07 AM PST by DFG

Former Madera County benefits eligibility worker Leticia Mariscal, 55, of Madera, was arrested today on charges that she stole tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of other people’s CalFresh benefits during a multiyear scheme, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. CalFresh is a financial assistance program that provides qualifying California residents with monetary benefits they can use to buy food. It was formerly known as the food stamp program.

According to court records, between December 2020 and April 2025, Mariscal improperly used county databases to which she had access through her job to obtain identifying information for individuals who were elderly or deceased. She then secretly approved these individuals to receive CalFresh benefits, printed EBT cards in their names with the benefits deposited thereon and spent the proceeds. Altogether, Mariscal used the identities of more than 15 people to steal benefits totaling more than $40,000. She was placed on leave earlier this year when her scheme was discovered.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Madera County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Mariscal faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for stealing CalFresh benefits. She also faces an additional two years in prison for misusing other people’s identities to commit the crime. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.


TOPICS: US: California
KEYWORDS: crime; theft; welfare

1 posted on 12/22/2025 9:02:07 AM PST by DFG
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To: DFG

Say it ain’t so! A dishonest bureaucRAT!?


2 posted on 12/22/2025 9:04:02 AM PST by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: DFG
She was placed on leave earlier this year when her scheme was discovered

I hope it was paid leave. That'll learn 'er.

3 posted on 12/22/2025 9:05:12 AM PST by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: DFG

“Leticia”

That pretty much sums thing ups.


4 posted on 12/22/2025 9:09:21 AM PST by Parley Baer
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To: Parley Baer

Condemned to a life of crime the moment her parent named her.


5 posted on 12/22/2025 9:12:04 AM PST by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: Parley Baer

🤔 hmmmm …..


6 posted on 12/22/2025 9:16:49 AM PST by MrRelevant
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To: Texas Eagle; DFG

This theft is only possible because swamp creature Deloitte IES Integrated Eligibility System is a fraud of BILLIONS while this poor guy only steals 40,000.

The EMPI Enterprise Master Person Index of IES is designed and coded to encourage dead persons who are active recipients. It is coded to give Sue Smith, Susan Smith and Susan Jones-Smith each a separate and distinct ID and benefits even though these 3 all have the same Birth Date, Address and Social Security Number.

Until he SWAMP is cleansed of the Deloitte Welfare Pimps and Parasites, the problem will continue.


7 posted on 12/22/2025 9:26:27 AM PST by spintreebob
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To: DFG

Deport her to Minneapolis.


8 posted on 12/22/2025 9:28:23 AM PST by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: Texas Eagle

Please don’t. We have too many as it is.


9 posted on 12/22/2025 9:37:52 AM PST by Sawdring
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To: DFG

Oh no! Madera is such a nice poor migrant (read Mexicans) community to travel through.


10 posted on 12/22/2025 10:55:05 AM PST by samadams2000
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To: DFG

Criminals need to start officially losing appendages.


11 posted on 12/22/2025 11:14:39 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: DFG

This is how they ghost vote, too.


12 posted on 12/22/2025 11:22:19 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: DFG

Madera County, Kalifornia! That is one of the far-away-from-everything places that Kalifornia has chosen to begin construction of the Kalifornia Super Train To Nowhere. Billions and billions “spent” already. No train, no tracks.


13 posted on 12/22/2025 11:26:03 AM PST by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try )
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To: DFG

Definitely knew how to work the system.


14 posted on 12/22/2025 11:58:09 AM PST by misterdarcey
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To: DFG

We know.


15 posted on 12/22/2025 12:09:08 PM PST by dynachrome (“They don’t kill you because you’re a Nazi; they call you a Nazi so they can kill you.”)
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To: spintreebob
The EMPI Enterprise Master Person Index of IES is designed and coded to encourage dead persons who are active recipients. It is coded to give Sue Smith, Susan Smith and Susan Jones-Smith each a separate and distinct ID and benefits even though these 3 all have the same Birth Date, Address and Social Security Number.

Couldn't a simple algorithm pick that up?

16 posted on 12/22/2025 12:43:17 PM PST by JimRed (TERM LIMITS, NOW! Finish the damned WALL! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH! )
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To: DFG

$40,000 is not worth it. She should have went for the really big payday /S


17 posted on 12/22/2025 12:59:17 PM PST by shotgun
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18 posted on 12/22/2025 8:06:48 PM PST by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: JimRed

Deloitte refuses to write normal code, refuses normal design.
Ten years ago the CIO of the department that receives the Deloitte garbage retired from that department and came back as a consultant to the department that contracts for Deloitte. His goal was to improve the design and coding of the GA Deloitte IES. Deloitte refused to make its EMPI a true Master Person Index and Deloitte won in battles in the swamp.


19 posted on 12/23/2025 8:02:05 AM PST by spintreebob
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