$31K Scheme: Kent Woman Nabbed For Welfare Fraud, Police Say

Putnam County resident Kimberly Nieves of Kent was arrested on Thursday, June 27 in connection with alleged welfare fraud, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office announced on Monday, July 1.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the investigation that led to Nieves' arrest began in March 2024, when the Putnam County Department of Social Services reported that one of their clients had allegedly been claiming benefits for rent payments over three years despite not being entitled to them.

Investigators eventually determined that Nieves had allegedly obtained over $31,000 in benefits she had not been entitled to.

After she turned herself in to the Sheriff's Office, Nieves was charged with:

• Third-degree welfare fraud, a felony;
• Twelve counts of offering a false instrument for filing, a felony.

She was later arraigned in the Town of Kent Court and released pending a future court date.

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