OLYMPIA – A 37-year-old Mount Vernon woman pleaded guilty to submitting false information to the state Department of Social and Health Services in order to receive public assistance benefits.
 
Between January 2006 and June 2010, Ofelia Manrique Polanco failed to report her husband as part of her household or to report his earned income when she submitted and signed public assistance documents.
 
Polanco reported her husband as part of her household to the landlord, utility companies, their bank, the finance company for their car loan, the social worker for their adult daughter and to their children’s school. Polanco had no explanation why she told DSHS her husband was absent from the home. She received child care, cash and food assistance
 
Polanco pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to one count of false verification of a welfare form. She was ordered to pay $26,948.64 to the state of Washington, plus $800 in court costs. She also was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
 
This case was investigated by DSHS Office of Fraud and Accountability Investigator Debbie Cheek and prosecuted by Skagit County Deputy Prosecutor Sloan G. Johnson.
 
You can report welfare fraud in Washington by calling 1-800-562-6906.