TITLE 56

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND WELFARE

CHAPTER 2

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE LAW

56-227.  Fraudulent acts — Penalty. (1) Whoever knowingly obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person in obtaining, by means of a willfully false statement or representation, material omission, or fraudulent devices, public assistance to which he is not entitled, or in an amount greater than that to which he is justly entitled, shall be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as for larceny or theft of the money or value of the public assistance so obtained or attempted to be so obtained.

(2)  Whoever sells, conveys, mortgages or otherwise disposes of his property, real or personal, or conceals his income or resources, for the purpose of rendering him eligible for public assistance, theretofore or thereafter applied for, to which he would not otherwise be entitled, shall be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as for larceny or theft of the money or value of the public assistance so obtained or so attempted to be obtained. Provided however, this provision shall not be construed to be more restrictive than federal or state provisions regarding the transfer of property for public assistance.

(3)  Every person who knowingly aids or abets any person in selling, conveying, mortgaging or otherwise disposing of his property, real or personal, or in concealing his income or resources for the purpose of rendering him eligible for public assistance, theretofore or thereafter applied for and received, to which he would not otherwise be entitled, shall be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as for larceny or theft of the money or value of the public assistance so obtained or attempted to be obtained. Provided however, this provision shall not apply to any person who communicates information or renders advice to another regarding federal or state provisions regarding the transfer of property for public assistance.

(4)  For the purpose of this section, public assistance shall include the specific categories of assistance for which provision is made in any federal or state law existing or hereafter enacted by the congress of the United States or the state of Idaho by which payments are made from the federal government to the state in aid or in respect to payment by the state for welfare purposes to any category of needy person and any other program of assistance for which provision for federal or state funds for aid may from time to time be made.

(5)  The state department of health and welfare shall establish and operate a fraud control program to investigate suspected fraud relating to applications for public assistance benefits and public assistance benefits received by individuals or entities. Such activities shall be those that do not fall under the authority of the medicaid fraud control unit as provided in section 56-226, Idaho Code. The department shall establish a procedure to coordinate information with prosecuting attorneys to prosecute offenders who commit fraudulent acts pursuant to this chapter.

(6)  The state tax commission and the state department of health and welfare may enter into a written agreement for exchange of an individual’s state income tax return records and information for the purposes of investigating suspected fraud relating to applications for public assistance benefits and public assistance benefits received by individuals or entities. Such information shall be confidential to the recipient and may be used by the state department of health and welfare only for purposes of determining whether any individual or entity has committed a violation of this section. No information shared with the state department of health and welfare pursuant to this section shall be made public unless it is used in the course of a judicial proceeding arising under the laws of this state. Any information disclosed pursuant to this section must be disclosed in compliance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a and any other applicable federal or state laws or regulations regarding public assistance programs.

History:

[56-227, added 1941, ch. 181, sec. 24-c, as added by 1943, ch. 119, sec. 2, p. 228; am. 1974, ch. 233, sec. 9, p. 1590; am. 1981, ch. 194, sec. 1, p. 343; am. 1988, ch. 246, sec. 1, p. 480; am. 2002, ch. 369, sec. 2, p. 1039; am. 2007, ch. 341, sec. 5, p. 1007; am. 2008, ch. 188, sec. 1, p. 592.; am. 2013, ch. 143, sec. 1, p. 340; am. 2025, ch. 61, sec. 1, p. 285.]