A prosecutor says a Freeport woman fraudulently received $130,000 in public assistance

A Freeport woman has been indicted on grand theft and welfare fraud charges for allegedly receiving more than $130,000 in benefits to which she was not entitled, as well as separate insurance fraud charges, Nassau officials said.

Angelique White, 32, of Freeport wrongfully received more than $130,000 in Medicaid and child welfare benefits from 2017 to 2021, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced Friday.

According to the district attorney, on New York State Annual Health Benefits Exchange applications filed between August 2017 and June 2020, White allegedly reported that her annual income was between $0 and $24,000 and she began receiving Medicaid benefits for myself and two children.

Donnelly’s office said that in August 2019 and July 2020, White also applied for and received child care benefits for her two children.

On her benefits applications, White reported her biweekly wage of $995 from her employment with the U.S. Postal Service and the $16.00 hourly wage she earned at Northwell Core Labs.

According to Donnelly, White did not report any rental income on her applications. However, the Nassau County Department of Human Services Bureau of Investigation reviewed White’s finances and Nassau County land records revealed that she was jointly owned by two residents, one in Freeport and the other in Elmont.

According to Donnelly’s office, White received an inflated amount of $92,730 in Medicaid benefits and $39,771 in child care benefits by allegedly understating her income.

“Over several years, the defendant allegedly defrauded public assistance programs of more than $130,000, amassing thousands of dollars in rent from two properties she co-owned and wages from her jobs at the U.S. Postal Service and Northwell Labs.” Donnelly said in a statement.

“In yet another alleged fraud,” White provided Geico with “illegal” documents as proof of residence in an Oswego apartment “to avoid paying higher downstate insurance premiums” for her 2017 Infiniti, Donnelly added. White allegedly underpaid Geico on insurance premiums by more than $11,000.

White surrendered to District Attorney’s Office investigators on Thursday, according to Donnelly’s office. On the same day, she pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree social security fraud, third-degree state fraud, third-degree insurance fraud and two counts of third-degree grand larceny before Judge Robert Pipia of Nassau County. Court records show that this is Hempstead District Court.

She is scheduled to return to court on January 16. She faces 5 to 15 years in prison if convicted, according to the district attorney.

When reached for comment Friday evening, Ray Baierlein, the lead defense attorney representing White, said fraud cases like hers “are complex.”

“What prosecutors and police say … sometimes doesn’t hold up when you do full accounting,” Baierlein said. He added that benefit applications “are sometimes complicated or convoluted. You can inadvertently violate what needs to be disclosed, even if that was not your intention.”