Welfare fraud in Nevada occurs when you intentionally misrepresent or omit material information in an effort to obtain welfare benefits to which you are not entitled. In 2024, Nevada has seen a whopping 650% increase in welfare fraud.¹

Depending on the case, welfare fraud can be prosecuted in state or federal court, or both.

Penalties

A single act of welfare fraud is usually prosecuted as a category E felony. This carries probation, but if you have two or more past felony convictions, the judge can order:

• 1 – 4 years in Nevada State Prison, and/or
• up to $5,000 in fines

If you are convicted on federal charges, the penalties may include hefty fines and time in Federal Prison depending on the offense.

Defenses

Standard defenses in NRS 422A cases include taking the position that:

• The government made a clerical error,
• You had no intention to defraud, and/or
• The police conducted an unlawful search and seizure

In many cases, Nevada prosecutors are open to plea bargaining charges down to a more minor offense or even a dismissal.

The following graphic shows various ways welfare fraud occurs in Nevada:

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:

• 1. What is welfare fraud in Nevada?
• 2. How do I fight the charges?
• 3. Can I go to jail?
• 4. Can I get my case sealed?
• 5. Will I get deported?
• Additional Reading

1. What is welfare fraud in Nevada?

Nevada’s legal definition of “welfare fraud” is extremely broad and encompasses dozens of possible offenses committed by benefits recipients and applicants. Just a few of the more common crimes include the following:

• Making false statements in order to receive benefits
• Using a fake ID in order to receive benefits
• Not reporting all your real property or valuable possessions that could offset the benefits
• Secretly accepting benefits from more than one state
• Not reporting income or other monies you have received that could offset your benefits, or make you ineligible
• Not reporting when a child or other dependent leaves the home
• Accepting benefits you are no longer entitled to receive

Welfare office employees can also face fraud allegations. This typically occurs after they input incorrect information to give benefits to an ineligible applicant or deny benefits to an eligible one.

Note that the term “welfare” comprises various state and federal need-based programs, such as:

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) a.k.a. food stamps,
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
• Medicaid,
• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance,
• The Program for Child Care and Development, and
• State Supplementary Assistance²

Nevada’s Division of Welfare and Supportive Services of the Department manages and administers these public assistance programs.

Federal Crimes

Welfare fraud can be both a state as well as a federal crime.³ Depending on the particularities of the case, the FBI typically brings such fraud charges as mail fraud and/or wire fraud.

In practice, most criminal cases are prosecuted in either state or federal court. However, it is legal for you to face charges in both courts for the same alleged offense.⁴

2. What are the defenses to welfare fraud in Nevada?

Common defense strategies used to fight allegations of defrauding the Welfare Department include:

• clerical error
• lack of fraudulent intent
• illegal search and seizure

The prosecution bears the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the attorney can show the prosecutor that there is insufficient evidence to meet this high standard or proof, your case may be dismissed.

Clerical Error

Like any bureaucracy, the welfare department is a slow-moving, understaffed agency that makes mistakes. Criminal defense attorney Michael Becker provides an example of how a government error can result in criminal charges for a welfare applicant:

Example: Ava applies for welfare in Las Vegas. By accident, her welfare caseworker inputs the wrong salary, and Ava starts receiving more money that she is entitled to. But Ava committed no crime because the caseworker committed the error, and Ava was unaware of this error or that she was receiving more money that she should have.

The caseworker’s records and the communications between you and the agency would be useful evidence in situations like the above example. The case should be dismissed once the prosecutor sees that the mistake lies with the government and not you.

Lack of Fraudulent Intent

Violating NRS 422A is a “specific intent” crime. This means that you should not be convicted unless you had the intent to defraud. Therefore, a typical defense is that you did not deliberately try to deceive anyone.

Example: Catherine applies for welfare in Henderson. By accident, she types one too few zeroes so it appears Catherine is earning ten times less than what she really earns. If caught, Catherine may be arrested and booked at the Henderson Detention Center for violating NRS 422A. But if the defense attorney can show that Catherine made an innocent mistake, the charges should be dropped.

Some Nevada judges may go easy on distressed welfare applicants such as Catherine in the above example. The welfare system is very daunting and requires confusing paperwork, so courts expect that law-abiding people may commit unintentional errors.

Illegal Search

Prosecutors amass evidence through police searches and seizures. If the police had performed an illegal search (such as by not getting a search warrant when one was necessary), your defense attorney would file a motion to suppress evidence with the court.

If the court grants the motion, all the illegally obtained evidence will be excluded from your case.⁵ Then the D.A. may have no choice but to dismiss your case for lack of proof.

3. What are the penalties for welfare fraud in Nevada?

Nevada welfare fraud offenses are typically punished as a category E felony, carrying probation. However if you have two or more past felony convictions, the judge may impose the following punishment for welfare fraud:

• one to four (1 – 4) years in prison, and
• repayment of any welfare benefits illegally obtained, and
• up to $5,000 in fines⁶

You may also be ineligible for future welfare benefits.

Federal Penalties

Below are the sentences for federal crimes that may be charged in welfare fraud cases.

Federal crime	Penalties
Mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341)	fines and/or up to 20 years in prison
Wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)	up to $1,000,000 and/or up to 30 years in prison
Bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344)	up to $1,000,000 and/or up to 30 years in prison
Interstate transportation of funds obtained by fraud (18 U.S.C. § 2314)	fines and/or up to 10 years in prison
False statements to a financial institution (18 U.S.C. § 1814 )	up to $1,000,000 and/or up to 30 years in prison
False statements to a government agency (18 U.S.C. § 1001)	fines and/or up to 8 years in prison
Identity theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028)	fines and/or up to 15 years in prison
Aggravated identity theft (18 U.S.C. § 1028A)	up to 5 years in prison
Use of false name or address in mailings (18 U.S. Code § 1342)	fines and/or up to 5 years in prison
Use of a false social security number (42 U.S.C. § 408a)	fines and/or up to 5 years in prison

4. Can I get my welfare fraud case sealed in Nevada?

If you are convicted of a category E felony for violating NRS 422A, you can usually petition for a Nevada record seal two (2) years after your case ends.⁷ If your case gets dismissed (so there is no conviction), the record seal process can begin immediately.⁸

Note that federal criminal convictions can never be sealed (with some exceptions).

5. Can welfare fraud get me deported?

Yes, the Department of Homeland Security has indicated that welfare fraud is a deportable crime.⁹ Therefore, if you are a non-citizen arrested for NRS 422A charges in Nevada, you should retain an attorney skilled in both immigration law and criminal defense. The attorney would try to convince the prosecutor to either drop your charges or change them to non-removable offenses.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Welfare Fraud and the Fourth Amendment – Pepperdine Law Review
• Broke people, broken rules: Explaining welfare fraud investigators’ attributions – Punishment and Society
• Detecting and preventing welfare fraud – Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice
• Welfare Law, Welfare Fraud, and the Moral Regulation of the ‘Never Deserving’ Poor – Social and Legal Studies
• Welfare fraud and welfare stigma – Journal of Economic Psychology
  

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Legal References: