AG NEWS RELEASE: Attorney General charges woman with welfare recipient fraud
Posted on Dec 30, 2015 in Latest Department News, Newsroom, Office of the Governor Press Releases
HONOLULU – Attorney General Doug Chin announced today that Kianna Ah Lee Sam has been charged with theft in the first degree. Ms. Sam, who is forty years old, allegedly received public assistance benefits to which she was not entitled.
The Attorney General alleges that between November 1, 2007 and November 30, 2014, Ms. Sam applied for and received public assistance benefits to which she was not entitled. This resulted in the Department of Human Services making overpayments to Ms. Sam in an amount exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
The charge against Ms. Sam is brought under sections 708-830(2) and 708-830.5(1)(a) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS). A conviction for theft in the first degree is a class B felony that carries with it an indeterminate sentence not to exceed ten years, pursuant to HRS section 706-660. The minimum term of imprisonment shall be set by the Hawaii Paroling Authority, pursuant to HRS section 706-669.
Ms. Sam is presumed innocent unless and until she is found guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
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For more information, contact:
Joshua A. Wisch
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
(808) 586-1284