Concord Resident Pleads Guilty to Multiple Fraud Charges

CONCORD, NH—Betty Dugan, 54, of Concord, New Hampshire, has pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to charges that she knowingly used false information to obtain benefits from government programs that are solely intended to provide financial assistance to impoverished individuals and families, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

From January 2003 to April 2012, Dugan received benefits totaling more than $250,000 from the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Income program, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 8 Housing program, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Stamp program, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Financial Assistance to Needy Families and Aid to Permanently Disabled Persons programs.

Dugan admitted that she obtained the benefits by falsely reporting to the affected government agencies that her husband was not a member of her household and that he did not contribute any income to the household when, in fact, her husband was a member of the household and his annual salary ranged from $69,500 to $89,000.

Dugan is facing a up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. She is scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2014.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; the New Hampshire Housing and Finance Authority; the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Kinsella.