McAlester News-Capital, McAlester, OK

Police/Courts

Related Photos

  • Candice Lynn Heath calls a phone number on the back of her Oklahoma Department of Human Services food stamp benefits card to check the balance. Heath was charged with, and convicted of, food stamp fraud. And even though she faced these legal charges, she continued to receive benefits from DHS. Her current benefit balance: $1,362.95. “What is wrong with this picture?” Heath asked. Photo by Kevin Harvison

    HEATH-SPEAKS-OUT.jpg

  • Candice Lynn Heath Photo by Kevin Harvison

    HEATH-SPEAKS-OUT-2.jpg
February 2, 2012

Woman convicted of food stamp fraud speaks out

By Rachel Petersen Staff Writer

McALESTER — A McAlester woman who pleaded guilty Jan. 23 in Pittsburg County District Court to charges related to food stamp fraud came to the McAlester News-Capital to speak out regarding her case.

Candice Lynn Heath, 30, pleaded guilty to two charges related to welfare fraud — obtaining food stamps by fraud and false claims against state. Heath said that she submitted a plea of guilty in the case because she just didn’t have it in her to keep fighting.

After pleading guilty, Heath was fined $500 and then she was ordered to pay more than $55,000 in restitution, court documents indicate.

Christopher J. Comer, a state of Oklahoma law enforcement agent and an investigator for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General, investigated the case against Heath’s acts of food stamp fraud. During his investigation, Comer discovered that Heath had applied for food benefits from 2007 until 2011. In her applications, she stated that she lived at a residence on C Street in McAlester with three of her children and had no family income. According to Comer’s affidavit, these statements by Heath were untrue. During his investigation, Comer’s affidavit indicates that Heath, and her three children, lived with Heath’s husband at a residence on Anderson Road in McAlester.

Her husband, David Heath, “is gainfully employed and has a monthly income which would make him and his current family totally ineligible to receive SNAP (food stamps) benefits,” Comer’s affidavit states.

When asked about the case, Heath said that she is married, and that her husband does have an income. However, during that time period, Heath said, “I had to live with my mother because of my health issues.” In fact, Heath said she hadn’t even met her husband until months after authorities accused her of living with him.

Heath said that when investigators came to her husband’s home, regarding the welfare fraud case, all of her stuff was still in boxes, because she had just recently been able to move back in with her husband.

“I pled guilty to all of this because I just couldn’t handle anymore,” Heath said. “You know, I worked my butt off to get my paralegal license and my child care license. And now that I have a felony on my record, I can’t use them.”

Court documents indicate that Heath collected approximately $21,000 in food benefits since 2007, and now she owes over $55,000 in restitution to pay back benefits she collected from the Department of Human Services. “They are also collecting money that helped pay my children’s medical bills,” Heath said. “That is why I owe so much.”

Heath said that she believes the system is seriously flawed. “The strange thing is that I still have over $1,000 on my card,” Heath said. “Even while I was in jail, and months afterwards, they kept putting money on my account.” While at the News-Capital, Heath called to check the balance on her Oklahoma  DHS food stamp card. The balance was $1,362.95. “What is wrong with this picture?” Heath asked. “They’re charging me with fraud, taking me to court, scaring my children, and then they continue to give me more benefits.”

When asked if she believed she did anything wrong, Heath replied: “I fed my kids. How is that wrong?”



Contact Rachel Petersen at rpetersen@mcalesternews.com.

For more on this story, see the print or electronic editions of the McAlester News-Capital. Click here for print edition home delivery or click here to see the Smart Edition for your computer, tablet, e-reader or smart phone.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Police/Courts
Seasonal Content
AP Video
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
NDN Video
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Beyonce Is Pregnant! SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion Woman tricked into taking abortion pill Emma Watson Goes Pantless IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.