Liberty, NY – The Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force has made the following arrests:
- August 8, 2018 – Michael T. Jones, 49, of Grahamsville was arrested and charged with the Class E Felonies of Filing a False Instrument in the 1st and Welfare Fraud 4th. It is alleged that Jones stole $1,062.50 in public assistance benefits by failing to disclose that he had over $50,000 in a bank account while he was collecting public assistance benefits. Jones was arraigned in the Town of Liberty Court and remanded to Sullivan County Jail without bail.
- August 23, 2018 – Gerard T. Colbert, 66, of Wurtsboro was arrested and charged with the Class E Felony of Filing a False Instrument in the 1st and the Class A Misdemeanors of Welfare Fraud in the 5th degree, Petit Larceny and Misuse of Food Stamps. A joint investigation between the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force resulted in the allegation that Colbert stole $468 in public assistance benefits by failing to disclose that he had $4,388.70 in his bank account while he was collecting public assistance benefits. Colbert was arraigned in the Town of Liberty Court and remanded to Sullivan County Jail without bail.
- August 28, 2018 – Nicholas J. Fonseca, 38, of Liberty was arrested and charged with the Class E Felony of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st and two counts of the Class A Misdemeanor of Theft of Service. It is alleged that Fonseca stole $77.74 in public-funded transportation by using Medicaid-funded medical transportation for non-medical purposes. Fonseca was arraigned in the Town of Liberty and remanded to Sullivan County Jail without bail.
- August 29, 2018 – Generosa Canales, 31, of Syracuse was arrested and charged with the Class E Felony of Grand Larceny 4th. It is alleged that Canales stole $2,744.40 in public assistance benefits by failing to disclose that she was receiving income from employment. Canales was issued an appearance ticket to appear in the Town of Liberty Court at a later date.
- September 4, 2018 – Elijha B. Davis, 25, of Liberty was arrested and charged with the Class E Felony of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree and the Class A Misdemeanor of Theft of Service. A joint investigation between Sullivan County Probation and the Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force resulted in the allegation that Davis, a probationer, stole $636.80 in public-funded transportation by using Medicaid-funded medical transportation for non- medical purposes. Davis was arraigned in the Town of Liberty and remanded to Sullivan County Jail on $2,500 bail.
- September 5, 2018 - David Villalobos, 47, of Middletown and Danielle Decker, 37, of Middletown were arrested and charged with the Class E Felonies of Welfare Fraud in the 4th Degree and Filing a False Instrument in the 1st Degree. It is alleged that Villalobos and Decker stole $2,996 in public assistance benefits by failing to report income from employment. Villalobos and Decker were issued appearance tickets to appear in the Town of Liberty Court at a later date.
- September 5, 2018 - Lisa Ferdico, 48, of Monticello was arrested and charged with the Class E Felony of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree and Class A Misdemeanor of Theft of Service. It is alleged that Ferdico stole $1,560.85 in public-funded transportation by using Medicaid-funded medical transportation for rides to the Bronx to visit her relatives. Ferdico was issued an appearance ticket to appear in the Town of Liberty Court at a later date.
- September 6, 2018 – Phillip Seuffert, 29, of Liberty was arrested and charged with violating the conditions of his parole. A joint investigation between the Village of Liberty Police Department, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force resulted in the allegation that Seuffert, a parolee and Level III sex offender, was having prohibited contact with a child and possessed a prohibited cell phone and social media accounts. Seuffert was remanded to Sullivan County Jail pending a parole hearing.
- September 6, 2018 – Randy Johnson, 27, of Liberty was arrested and charged with violating the conditions of his parole. A joint investigation between the Village of Liberty Police Department, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and Sullivan County Welfare Fraud Task Force resulted in the allegation that Johnson, a parolee, violated the conditions of his parole by failing to comply with work and drug & alcohol requirements. Johnson was remanded to Sullivan County Jail pending a parole hearing.