(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. – A Buffalo woman has been sentenced to five years of probation for fraudulently obtaining public assistance benefits by concealing her marriage and household income.
Carmella Miller, 40, received her sentence on Monday before State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens. As part of her sentence, Miller must complete 200 hours of community service and repay the $6,406 she illegally received from the Erie County Department of Social Services.
Prosecutors say Miller committed welfare fraud between March 1, 2018, and February 29, 2020, by falsifying re-certification applications for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. She failed to report her marriage and her spouse’s income, which made her ineligible for the benefits she received.
Following a one-and-a-half-day, non-jury trial in October 2024, Justice Givens found Miller guilty on November 12, 2024, of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree, both Class D felonies.
The investigation was conducted by the New York State Inspector General’s Office, the Erie County Department of Social Services, and Confidential Criminal Investigator Natalie Perez. Assistant District Attorney Norvella C. Pendergrass of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau prosecuted the case.
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