Scott County downsizes fraud investigation program

The hot line tip came in anonymously: A woman living in Savage was collecting welfare benefits by claiming unemployment, even though she was working at the Mendota Heights Pool and Yacht Club.

It triggered a county investigation and the woman, Nicole Esther Robinson, ultimately pleaded guilty to collecting nearly $190,000 in welfare benefits between 2004 and 2013. Robinson was ordered to pay restitution and sentenced to six months in prison.

A fraud the size of Robinson's is unusual, but it represents just one of hundreds of cases handled by Scott County's Fraud Prevention Investigation (FPI) program. Since its inception in 2009, the department has handled more than 1,600 cases across Scott, Wright, Meeker, McLeod and Carver counties.

Starting July 1, it'll be responsible for just Scott, McLeod and Carver — a change spurred by the availability of additional funding. County staff members say they expect having a smaller region will make the program run more efficiently.

"We're hoping between the relationship-building and the efficiencies that are gained, that overall we'll see some positive outcomes," said Barb Dahl, the county's economic assistance director.

Scott's current five-county region is one of 13 multicounty regions in Minnesota, most of which are in rural areas. It formed after the state, in an effort to stretch limited resources, asked Scott County to be the main grant recipient and leader for a larger area.

"It was just kind of arbitrary — 'Here are the contiguous counties, would you be interested in being the host, the grant recipient, and include all of those counties?'" said Judith Brumfield, the county's outgoing health and human services director.

But soon, with less ground to cover, "I can actually get into their offices and have some good face time with them," Kleven said.

Though a smaller region may increase efficiency, it may also bring a bigger workload, Kleven said. In other words, moving through cases faster may mean having to take on more cases overall.

The average investigation lasts 15 days, and Kleven said it could entail anything from interviewing a landlord to reviewing records to conducting surveillance.

Most cases are "absent parent" cases, Kleven said, when someone requests assistance after their partner moves out and leaves them without income. The problem starts when the absent person's return isn't reported.

"Maybe it was just a 24-hour spat and he's back," Kleven said. To find out for sure, surveillance is usually conducted in the early morning or late evening, he said.

Since 2009, investigations in Scott's five-county region have revealed $888,731 in overpayments for fraudulent claims, not counting cases that have been referred to the criminal justice system. The investigations have also saved the counties $653,136 on pending applications deemed ineligible.

"Despite the large region, we've actually had some pretty great accomplishments," Dahl said.