AUBURN, Maine — A Lewiston man is going to jail for 60 days after pleading guilty to stealing food stamps and other public assistance benefits worth $11,000.
Forty-six-year-old David Stain pleaded guilty to two counts of theft Monday in Androscoggin County Superior Court. He was sentenced to one year in jail, with all but 60 days of his sentence suspended.
Prosecutors say Stain admitted stealing $1,600 worth of benefits from the state’s food stamp program by selling his electronic benefits transfer card to his sister for eight months and then using the cash to buy cigarettes.
Stain also admitted that he obtained $9,400 in public assistance from the city of Lewiston by failing to disclose that his wife, who also receives public benefits, was living with him.
sad thing is theres ALOT of people who get food stamps and sell them, that or buy junk food such as soda, candy.
Trust me, he’s not the first person to do this. Instead of going through the trouble of doing that, you think it’d be a lot easier to go out and get a job.
Maybe then he could afford his smoking habit.
Food stamp purchases should be limited to nutritional food, much the way the WIC program works. Alcohol is excluded from the program so I see no reason why things like soda, refined sugar products (candy, donuts, etc.), and similar items couldn’t also be excluded.
Agreed. Things having little or no nutritional value do nothing but put recipients’ health at risk and at the same time promote obesity.
They should be going after he’s sister too, is what i meant to say.
I wonder why your post was removed. There was nothing wrong with it and I second it.
This has to be a mistake,there’s no welfare fraud in Maine!
Hey. I don’t get it. I thought there was no welfare fraud in Maine?
Cool I guess it is still Ok to buy food stamps just not sell them. I though it was going to cost me twice as much a Walmart to get me food.
hooray!!! i hope that they bust more abusers of the system.