Officials: Sumter County woman fraudulently obtained $7K in food stamps

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — A 54-year-old Sumter County woman was arrested last month after investigators said she fraudulently obtained more than $7,000 in public assistance funds.

Cindy Clark reported that she was unemployed and didn't earn income in July and December 2015 and in July 2016, Florida Department of Children and Families records said.

But investigators with the Florida Department of Financial Services' Public Assistance Fraud division said Clark was working at a home health care company in The Villages at the time.

Investigators said from August 2015 to January 2017, Clark earned more than $133,000, disqualifying her from receiving public assistance.

Channel 9's Myrt Price on Monday visited Clark's home in a Sumter County gated community seeking answers, but no one answered when he knocked on the front door.

Price asked a man who appeared at the home if it's Clark's home, but he only said that his girlfriend lives there before walking into it.

Investigators said Clark admitted to claiming she didn't have a job on public assistance applications.

State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis issued the following statement about the case:

"Public assistance fraud steals from Floridians who need it most and anyone who tries to game the system will be arrested and held accountable. This criminal knowingly took money that could have otherwise gone to a Florida family in need. It's disgusting and unacceptable."

Cox Media Group