Tag:

Department of Social Services

Calvert
News
'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing' Sentenced For Raping Minor In Maryland: Sheriff 'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing' Sentenced For Raping Minor In Maryland: Sheriff
'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing' Sentenced For Raping Minor In Maryland: Sheriff A judge in Calvert County had harsh words for a sexual offender from Prince Frederick who preyed on a minor for years.  Jonathan Huffman, 38, was sentenced in Calvert County Circuit Court to 50 years in prison with all but 18 years suspended, for sexually abusing a minor and second-degree rape, authorities announced. At his sentencing, Judge Mark Chandlee described Huffman as "a wolf in sheep's clothing."  According to the Charles County State's Attorney's Office, last year, the sheriff's office received a cyber tip about possible abuse, launching a joint investigation that inclu…

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by Zak Failla
Shelton
News
Shelton Man Who Ripped Off Medicaid While Employed With Greenwich Police Avoids Jail Shelton Man Who Ripped Off Medicaid While Employed With Greenwich Police Avoids Jail
Shelton Man Who Ripped Off Medicaid While Employed With Greenwich Police Avoids Jail A Fairfield County man who was working as a police officer has avoided jail for Medicaid fraud but must repay monies stolen. Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin Friday, said on Friday, Jan. 5 that  Michael Mastronardi, age 49, of Shelton, was sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to one count of cruelty to persons. In addition, he was ordered to pay $57,278.24 in restitution to the Department of Social Services to reimburse the Medicaid program. An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that between August 2014 and April 2019, Ma…

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by Kathy Reakes
New Canaan
News
New Canaan Man Accused Of Ripping Off Medicaid For $80K New Canaan Man Accused Of Ripping Off Medicaid For $80K
New Canaan Man Accused Of Ripping Off Medicaid For $80K A Fairfield County man was charged with allegedly submitting fraudulent claims to the government for services that were not rendered. Andrew R. Golden, age 55, of New Canaan, was arrested Monday, Dec. 18, by inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. He was charged with larceny by defrauding a public community and health insurance fraud. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Golden is a licensed professional counselor, listed as an individual practitioner and owner of a Stamford practice.  Between January 2020 and July 2022, Gold…

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by Kathy Reakes
Hartford
Police & Fire
Hartford Woman Steals $127K From Care4Kids Program, State Attorney Says Hartford Woman Steals $127K From Care4Kids Program, State Attorney Says
Hartford Woman Steals $127K From Care4Kids Program, State Attorney Says A Connecticut woman has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $127,000 from Care4Kids, a childcare program financed by the state Department of Social Services. Xiomy Auqui De La Cruz, age 28, of Hartford, was arrested on Thursday, Aug. 3, by inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney on a warrant and charged with larceny. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Auqui De La Cruz operates a home daycare called So Cute Daycare 1 in Hartford and owns the business. In January 2023, the Office of Early Childhood received a complaint a…

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by Kathy Reakes
Hudson
Police & Fire
Holland Tunnel Driver With Loaded Gun, $17K Toll Debt Impersonated Officer: Port Authority PD Holland Tunnel Driver With Loaded Gun, $17K Toll Debt Impersonated Officer: Port Authority PD
Holland Tunnel Driver With Loaded Gun, $17K Toll Debt Impersonated Officer: Port Authority PD A woman who once made headlines for an alleged COVID scam was carrying a loaded gun -- and owed $17,000 in unpaid tolls -- when Port Authority police stopped her at the New Jersey end of the Holland Tunnel, Daily Voice has learned. Sharita T. Patterson, 36, of Brooklyn was stopped in Jersey City for having a bogus temporary Georgia license tag on her car just before noon Tuesday, July 25, said Port Authority Public Information Officer Lenis Valens. PAPD officers spotted the gun "in plain view" and seized it, Valens said. They also seized Patterson, a single mother of three who Valens said…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Putnam
Police & Fire
Violent Threat At School In Carmel Leads To Student's Arrest Violent Threat At School In Carmel Leads To Student's Arrest
Violent Threat At School In Carmel Leads To Student's Arrest Updated story: Person Accused Of Making Threat Against Current Student At High School In Hudson Valley Authorities are keeping close watch over a middle school in the Hudson Valley after a reported threat of violence that led to an arrest of a juvenile student. The threat was made in Putnam County at the George Fischer Middle School in Carmel around midnight on Thursday, March 23, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.  The incident caused the school to delay its opening by two hours and also prompted an investigation conducted by the Sheriff's Office.  One j…

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by Ben Crnic
Hartford
News
Pair Of Manchester Women Charged With Scamming Public Assistance Program Pair Of Manchester Women Charged With Scamming Public Assistance Program
Pair Of Manchester Women Charged With Scamming Public Assistance Program Two Connecticut women have been arrested and charged, in unrelated incidents, with stealing a combined $26,616 from a program financed by the state Department of Social Services. Hartford County residents Amy Figueroa, age 30, and Tarina Martin, age 32, both of Manchester, were arrested by inspectors from the Chief State's Attorney's Office on separate warrants charging both women with larceny. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Figueroa received $21,691 in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that she was not entitled to receive from December 2017 to F…

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by Kathy Reakes
Anne Arundel
News
Family Friend Sentenced For Raping Minor After Moving Into Anne Arundel County Home Family Friend Sentenced For Raping Minor After Moving Into Anne Arundel County Home
Family Friend Sentenced For Raping Minor After Moving Into Anne Arundel County Home A Virginia man has been sentenced to 36 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing a child of a family friend for two years, authorities say. Anne Arundel County Police and Department of Social Services first received a report that Hector Rojo, 27, had sexually abused the minor victim on Oct. 22, 2020, according to Anne Arundel County Government officials. The report stated that Rojo had moved into the home of the victim and had initially begun to touch her breasts and buttocks of the victim before progressing to rape over the course of two years of abuse. “As adults, …

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by Annie DeVoe
Prince George's
News
Prince George's County To Enforce Teen Curfew Amid Deadly Stretch Of Murders, Violence Prince George's County To Enforce Teen Curfew Amid Deadly Stretch Of Murders, Violence
Prince George's County To Enforce Teen Curfew Amid Deadly Stretch Of Murders, Violence Prince George’s County will begin to start strictly enforcing a teen curfew next weekend following the most violent month for the county in decades, officials say. The curfew aims to keep kids off the streets at night after August alone saw 24 murders investigated by police, states Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. In addition to the murders, the number of juvenile arrests has nearly doubled since last year, with 430 arrests so far in 2022.  A substantial number of the hundreds of carjackings that have occurred in 2022 have been by juvenile boys, states Alsobrooks. …

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by Annie DeVoe
Anne Arundel
Police & Fire
Maryland Man Charged For Sexual Abuse Of Minor At Taekwondo Studio Maryland Man Charged For Sexual Abuse Of Minor At Taekwondo Studio
Maryland Man Charged For Sexual Abuse Of Minor At Taekwondo Studio A West Friendship man has been arrested in connection to a child sexual abuse offense that occurred at a Taekwondo studio in 2021, authorities say. Steve Choi, 42, allegedly sexually abused the victim at Lion Choi's Taekwondo Studio in the 2000 block of Annapolis Road in Hanover over the course of several years, starting when the victim was 14, according to Anne Arundel County Police.  The Department of Social Services contacted police about the abuse on Sep. 8, 2021. The victim was interviewed at the Anne Arundel County Child Advocacy Center on Sep. 17, 2021. On Tuesday, Aug. 16, Cho…

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by Annie DeVoe
Brookfield
News
Lamont Announces Number Of Afghan Refugees Who Will Resettle In CT Lamont Announces Number Of Afghan Refugees Who Will Resettle In CT
Lamont Announces Number Of Afghan Refugees Who Will Resettle In CT Hundreds of Afghan refugees will soon call Connecticut home as Gov. Ned Lamont gets ready to welcome them into the Nutmeg State. Lamont said that the State Department of Social Services will work with federal, state, and local officials to ensure that resources are properly allocated and municipalities have the support needed as 310 refugees make their way stateside. 
“I welcome these individuals with open arms into our wonderful state,” the governor said. "It is our obligation and our duty to ensure these Afghan refugees feel welcome in our state, and we will work to ensure they have ever…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfield
Politics
State Senator From Fairfield County Takes Over As Republican Leader State Senator From Fairfield County Takes Over As Republican Leader
State Senator From Fairfield County Takes Over As Republican Leader Connecticut State Senator Kevin C. Kelly, who has represented District 21 since 2011, was elected as the body's minority leader by the Connecticut State Senate Republican Caucus.  The position entails speaking for the Republican caucus, detailing the party's reasoning for votes and negotiating with the Governor and majority leaders from the Connecticut House of Representatives on the caucus's behalf.  "I want to thank the people of the 21st district for entrusting me to continue serving Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford," wrote Kelly on Instagram. "It is truly an honor and pr…

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by Christina Coulter
Litchfield
News
Lamont Replaces CT Health Commissioner Amid Pandemic Lamont Replaces CT Health Commissioner Amid Pandemic
Lamont Replaces CT Health Commissioner Amid Pandemic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is replacing the state’s public health commissioner amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Renee Coleman-Mitchell has been fired due to multiple mistakes in her office dating back to last year, state officials said on Tuesday, May 12. In her place, Lamont announced that he is appointing Department of Social Services Commissioner Deidre Gifford to serve as the acting commissioner of the Department of Public Health, effective as of Tuesday. Coleman-Mitchell first joined the Department of Health in 1986, serving in various roles until 1994, before returnin…

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by Zak Failla
North Orange
News
Rockland County Social Services Employee Charged In $50K Benefits Scam Rockland County Social Services Employee Charged In $50K Benefits Scam
Rockland County Social Services Employee Charged In $50K Benefits Scam A 37-year-old Stony Point woman who has worked for Rockland county for years has been charged with grand larceny for allegedly fraudulently claiming more than $50K in a benefits scam. Yolanda Wiley, who worked for the Department of Social Services, was arrested on grand larceny charges on Monday, Feb. 10, said Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II. According to the District Attorney, Wiley is accused of stealing $50,880.55 from the Rockland County Department of Social Services between September 2016 until her arrest. Wiley obtained the money by allegedly falsely reporti…

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by Kathy Reakes
Shelton
News
State’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol Activated As Frigid Temps Near State’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol Activated As Frigid Temps Near
State’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol Activated As Frigid Temps Near With temperatures expected to plummet, shelters and warming centers are being opened up in Connecticut. Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Thursday, Feb. 13 that with temperatures anticipated to potentially reach single digits, the state has activated its Severe Cold Weather Protocol. The protocol directs staff from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security to coordinate with United Way 2-1-1 and Connecticut’s network of shelters to “ensure that the most vulnerable populations receive protection from the severe conditions.”…

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by Zak Failla
White Plains
Lifestyle
Prom Dress, Tuxedo Giveaways Set For Westchester County Center Prom Dress, Tuxedo Giveaways Set For Westchester County Center
Prom Dress, Tuxedo Giveaways Set For Westchester County Center There's still hope for a prom date. This weekend, Westchester County is co-sponsoring the 14th annual Operation Prom Dress and Tuxedo Giveaway at the County Center in White Plains. County Executive George Latimer said the three-day event gives more students -- who otherwise might not be able to afford it -- a chance to attend prom wearing designer clothing, The dress and tuxedo giveaway runs from Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29. Latimer said: “Going to your senior prom is a rite of passage for high school students, and the occasion should be remembered as a special one for kids …

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by Jon Craig