A Racine woman falsified applications for public assistance, according to court records, netting more than $35,000 in benefits for which she was not qualified.
Barbara A. Peterson, 49, is charged with felony theft-false representation, for actions allegedly taken between April 2009 and March 2013. She was to have made her initial appearance today in Racine County Circuit Court, but did not appear. A warrant has been ordered for her arrest.
The criminal complaint states that a fraud investigator with the Racine County Human Services Department found she claimed her daughter as a household member on applications and monthly report forms, even though she was not living in the home.
The girl’s father had sole custody and physical placement of the girl from February 2009 through August 2013.
In total, the Human Services Department reports that Peterson received $37,688.19 in overpayments.