In Delaware County, 149 investigations into welfare fraud resulted in 116 prosecutions and court-ordered restitution of $206,505 from July 1, 1987 to June 30, officials said.
Statewide, there were nearly 5,400 investigations with 3,010 complaints filed and $6 million in court-ordered restitution for 1986-87.
And, the welfare department has initiated a new program to make sure court- ordered restitution payments are being made, according to Donald McCarthy, area manager for the Department of Public Welfare.
In the past, cases were just adjudicated, Fichera said. With the computer to follow-up on the cases, the money is coming in, she said.
This month, Fichera, who is one of three claim investigation agents assigned to Delaware County, plans to file seven welfare fraud cases in Collingdale Regional Court. The suspects are accused of illegally obtaining $1,400 to $9,200 in welfare benefits.
Those accused of welfare fraud include single mothers and married couples, said Fichera, who said she has no qualms about asking for a jail sentence for offenders.
"I don't meet the people until we're in court," she said. "The only thing I care about is the intent to defraud," she said.
"I can't see jail time for a mother with babies," said Hilda Naylor, director of the Wesley House shelter in Chester.
"I know they have rules and regulations, and they have to keep reins on things," she said.
But Naylor said many recipients do not get enough to live on and some try to earn extra money.
"They're damned if they do and damned if they don't," she said.
The publicity generated from the convictions is the "best weapon that we've got" to deter fraud, she said.
As she sees it, word about convictions travel through the welfare grapevine. Some cheats voluntarily drop off the welfare roles rather than risk getting caught, she said.
