Public Assistance Fraud Unit

The Public Assistance Fraud Unit prosecutes fraud in need-based public assistance programs, focusing primarily on Welfare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and state and federal Public Housing Programs. The Unit is staffed by approximately eighteen Assistant District Attorneys drawn from the Trial Division's six Trial Bureaus. The Unit works closely with law enforcement agencies, including the Human Resources Administration's Bureau of Fraud Investigations, the New York City Department of Investigations, the NYPD, the New York State Department of Health, and the United States Department of Agriculture to uncover, investigate and prosecute fraud in public assistance programs. Founded in 1995, the Unit has prosecuted cases involving over 7 million dollars in fraud in public assistance programs.