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Westerly Man Admits to $83,000 Welfare Scam
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Donald S. Gingerella, 53, of Westerly, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on Friday to theft of government funds and Social Security fraud, after an investigation revealed that since January 2008, Gingerella collected nearly $83,000 from various federally funded public assistance programs to which he was not entitled.
Gingerella faces statutory penalties of up to 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on December 11, 2014.
According to information presented to the court, in November 2012, following Hurricane Sandy, Gingerella applied for Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits, claiming the storm resulted in his being unemployed. As proof of employment, Gingerella provided an IRS document claiming income in 2011 from self-employment.
Gingerella stated that he was not receiving SNAP benefits and that he was not receiving Social Security disability benefits. RIDLT investigators researched Gingerella’s claims and determined that they were false.
The investigation by DOL-OIG revealed that Gingerella received federally funded unemployment benefits following the March 2010 flood, based on a claim submitted to RIDLT. At the time, Gingerella claimed that his business, AAA Recreational, was ‘under six feet of water’ and that most of his equipment ‘was damaged and most got sucked away in [the] river.’
Gingerella admitted to the court that, based on fraudulent statements he made following the March 2010 flood, he received federally funded unemployment compensation totaling $15,417 to which he was not entitled. He also admitted to collecting $82,346 in public assistance payments based on fraudulent statements made to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Key Facts
- State: Rhode Island
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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