Welfare Fraud Charged Against Mother of Jackson Accuser
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Breaking News
Tuesday, 23 August 2005

A five-count complaint of welfare fraud has been filed against the mother of the teen accuser of Michael Jackson. The complaint alleges that she collected $18,782 in payments while making claims that she was indigent.

During the trial, Jackson's attorneys presented evidence that she and her family received $150,000 settlement in 2001 in a lawsuit against J.C. Penney, again while claiming to be indigent.

It was also shown that she received money from her boyfriend to pay her rent on an apartment.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Bureau of Fraud and Corruption Prosecutions are alleging that she hid from authorities that she received the settlement and failed to report the receipt of $637 for her rent in January 2003. The payment was not discovered until a social services investigator received a tip from a private investigator on February 2, 2005.

She was a significant witness for the prosecution against Michael Jackson and many of the jurors believed that she lacked credibility.

Source: AP/MJJForum