PORTLAND, Maine — A husband and wife from Kennebunk who told authorities they did not live together so the wife could continue to collect welfare benefits have pleaded guilty to welfare fraud charges.
Carol Welch pleaded guilty Thursday in in U.S. District Court in Portland guilty to Social Security fraud and theft of federal funds. Her husband, Scott Welch, pleaded guilty to making a false statement.
Prosecutors say the 52-year-old Carol Welch deliberately failed to disclose that she lived with her husband because she knew it would make her ineligible for welfare and food stamp benefits she collected from 2010 until last year.
Scott Welch wrote a letter to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services saying he did not live with his wife.
Both were freed pending sentencing in November.