August 6, Enclosed is a copy of the decision resulting from the hearing held in the above-referenced matter. Sincerely,

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1 STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Earl Ray Tomblin BOARD OF REVIEW Karen L. Bowling Governor 203 East Third Avenue Williamson, WV Cabinet Secretary August 6, 2014 Monica J. Lee HC 70, Box 100 Lenore, WV RE: LEE v. WV DHHR ACTION NO.: 14-BOR-1951 Dear Ms. Lee: Enclosed is a copy of the decision resulting from the hearing held in the above-referenced matter. In arriving at a decision, the State Hearing Officer is governed by the Public Welfare Laws of West Virginia and the rules and regulations established by the Department of Health and Human Resources. These same laws and regulations are used in all cases to assure that all persons are treated alike. You will find attached an explanation of possible actions you may take if you disagree with the decision reached in this matter. Sincerely, Stephen M. Baisden State Hearing Officer Member, State Board of Review Encl: Defendant s Recourse to Hearing Decision Form IG-BR-29 cc: Erika Young, Chairman, Board of Review Brian Shreve, Repayment Investigator

2 WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES BOARD OF REVIEW MONICA J. LEE, Defendant, v. Action Number: 14-BOR-1951 WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES, Movant. DECISION OF STATE HEARING OFFICER INTRODUCTION This is the decision of the State Hearing Officer resulting from an Administrative Disqualification Hearing for Monica J. Lee, requested by the Movant on April 24, This hearing was held in accordance with the provisions found in Chapter 700 of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Common Chapters Manual and Federal Regulations at 7 CFR The hearing was convened on July 31, The matter before the Hearing Officer arises from a request by the Department for a determination as to whether the Defendant has intentionally made a false statement in regard to residence or identity in order to receive benefits in more than one state simultaneously and thus should be disqualified from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for 10 years. At the hearing, the Department appeared by Brian Shreve, Repayment Investigator. The Defendant did not appear, despite being informed of the hearing date and time by a letter sent via U.S. Postal Service first-class mail. The participant was sworn and the following documents were admitted into evidence. Movant s Exhibits: M-1 Code of Federal Regulations, 7 CFR M-2 Benefit Recovery Referral, dated March 5, 2014 M-3 Form ES-FS-5, Food Stamp (SNAP) Claim Determination M-4 WV DHHR Adult/Family Medicaid application, dated May 29, 2013 M-5 Case recordings from Defendant s SNAP case record, from August 24 to October 16, 2013 M-6 Print-out of State of Wisconsin On-Line Benefit Application, dated July 10, 2013 M-7 WV DHHR General Physical and Social Summary forms, dated October 4, BOR-1951 Page 1

3 M-8 Print-out of State of Wisconsin Change of Address form, dated September 5, 2013 M-9 Print-out of State of Wisconsin On-Line Benefit Review form, dated September 9, 2013 M-10 Print-out of State of Wisconsin SNAP Benefit Access card transaction history, from January 10 to April 5, 2014 M-11 Mail-in SNAP application form, dated January 24, 2014 M-12 WV Income Maintenance Manual (IMM) Chapter 8, 8.2.A M-13 WV IMM Chapter 20, 20.2 M-14 Copy of IFM-BR-44, Waiver of Administrative Disqualification Hearing form, and IFM-BR-44a, Notice of Intent to Disqualify form, sent to Defendant on October 24, 2013 M-15 exchange between Repayment Investigator from WV DHHR and Repayment Investigator from Wisconsin Defendant s Exhibits: None After a review of the record, including testimony, exhibits, and stipulations admitted into evidence, and after assessing the credibility of all witnesses and weighing the evidence in consideration of the same, the Hearing Officer sets forth the following Findings of Fact. FINDINGS OF FACT 1) The Department s representative contends the Defendant committed an Intentional Program Violation and should be disqualified from SNAP for ten years because she deliberately made a false report regarding her residence in order to receive SNAP benefits simultaneously in West Virginia and Wisconsin. 2) The Department s representative submitted as evidence a Paris match (Exhibit M-2), which he described as a data base maintained by the Federal government that reports when identical social security numbers are associated with SNAP benefit recipients in two or more different states for the same month. He testified that this match led to his investigation of the Defendant s SNAP receipt. 3) The Department s representative submitted as evidence an on-line review form from the state of Wisconsin (Exhibit M-6), indicating the Defendant completed a benefit review on July 10, 2013, for that state s SNAP benefits, known as FoodShare. The Defendant also submitted a change-of-address form to the Wisconsin program, indicating her mailing address was a street address in Milwaukee, WI (Exhibit M-8). The Department s representative submitted into evidence a mail-in application for WV Medicaid (Exhibit M-4), listing her residence as a mailing address in West Virginia. 4) On January 24, 2014, the Defendant submitted an application for SNAP benefits in the state of West Virginia (Exhibit M-11). The Department approved her application and she received 14-BOR-1951 Page 2

4 SNAP benefits in West Virginia in the amount of $44. The Department s representative stated that the Defendant received SNAP benefits from Wisconsin in the month of January He submitted as evidence a print-out from Wisconsin s benefit access card transaction history for the Defendant, detailing purchases she made with SNAP benefits from that state from January 10 through April 5, 2014 (Exhibit M-10). The transaction history shows that the Defendant accessed her Wisconsin SNAP benefits in food stores in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky during that period of time. The transaction history indicates that the Defendant s SNAP amount balance was updated on January 14, 2014, when the State of Wisconsin added $171 to the Defendant s account. 5) The Department s representative stated that the Defendant s failure to report her correct state of residence resulted in her receiving SNAP benefits from the state of West Virginia in the amount of $44 for January 2014, when she simultaneously received SNAP benefits from the state of Wisconsin for that same month. APPLICABLE POLICY WV Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 8, 8.6.A reads as follows: An individual, who has made a fraudulent statement or representation about his identity or place of residence in order to receive multiple SNAP benefits simultaneously, is ineligible to receive SNAP benefits for a 10- year period. The 10-year period begins on the date the client is found guilty in a federal or state court or in an ADH. This applies to multiple benefits received in more than one state or in the same state. Conviction of or ADH finding of attempting to receive such multiple benefits carries the same disqualification penalty as actual receipt of the benefits. Pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR , an Intentional Program Violation shall consist of having intentionally: 1. Made a false or misleading statement, or misrepresented, concealed or withheld facts; or 2. Committed any act that constitutes a violation of the Food Stamp Act, the Food Stamp Program Regulations, or any State statute for the purpose of using, presenting, transferring, acquiring, receiving, possessing or trafficking of coupons, authorization cards or reusable documents used as part of an automated benefit delivery system access device. DISCUSSION Evidence clearly demonstrates that the Defendant misrepresented her residence to the state of Wisconsin in order to receive SNAP benefits from that state and from West Virginia simultaneously for the month of January CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1) Pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR , the Department presented clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant deliberately misrepresented her residence to 14-BOR-1951 Page 3

5 obtain SNAP benefits from Wisconsin and West Virginia in the same month. The Defendant committed an Intentional Program Violation by doing this. 2) The Department must impose a disqualification penalty. The disqualification penalty for misrepresenting one s residence in order to receive multiple benefits is ten years. DECISION It is the ruling of the Hearing Officer that the Defendant committed an Intentional Program Violation. She will be disqualified from participating in SNAP for ten years, beginning in September ENTERED this 6 th Day of August Stephen M. Baisden State Hearing Officer 14-BOR-1951 Page 4

May 19, Enclosed is a copy of the decision resulting from the hearing held in the above-referenced matter. Sincerely,

May 19, Enclosed is a copy of the decision resulting from the hearing held in the above-referenced matter. Sincerely, STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Earl Ray Tomblin BOARD OF REVIEW Karen L. Bowling Governor 2699 Park Avenue, Suite 100 Huntington, WV 25704 Cabinet