A Carroll Circuit judge sentenced a Westminster man to four years in prison last week for a welfare fraud scheme in which he and his girlfriend stole nearly $8,000.
Michael David Schweiger, 30, of Westminster was convicted in October of conspiracy to commit theft and welfare fraud. The conviction was a result of Carroll's first major welfare fraud investigation.
On Thursday, Carroll Circuit Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. gave Schweiger a seven-year sentence, with three years suspended. He also imposed five years of supervised probation to follow Schweiger's release.
The judge also ordered him to repay $7,885 in welfare benefits.
Assistant State's Attorney Eileen McInerney said she thought it was important that Schweiger serve time behind bars because when he was arrested in April, he had just been placed on probation by a Howard County judge for forgery.
"He was not even on probation for two months before he started violating the law again," Ms. McInerney said.
Prosecutors had offered Schweiger a plea deal but he turned it down, Ms. McInerney said.
Schweiger was one of seven people indicted in April on charges of stealing a total of $50,000 in welfare benefits. Prosecutors say they believe he is the first person in Carroll to be tried before a jury on a welfare fraud charge, Ms. McInerney said.
In four other welfare fraud cases, the defendants either pleaded guilty to welfare fraud or felony theft or were found guilty of the charges by a judge. None is serving jail time.
In the two remaining cases, Melissa Renee Barnes and Terry Lee Barnes are accused of stealing $32,000 in benefits, the largest amount for the seven charged.
Their trial is scheduled Jan. 12.
In Schweiger's case, Ms. McInerney said that he and his girlfriend, Barbara Barrett, illegally collected welfare benefits for nearly 10 months.
According to testimony from Schweiger's trial, Barrett told social workers that she was living with her three children, two of them Schweiger's. She also told them Schweiger's whereabouts were unknown and that he was not paying child support.
She was approved for more than $400 in monthly benefits.
As it turned out, Schweiger was living with the woman and the children in a Taneytown apartment.
"Our theory is that he [Schweiger] was definitely the mastermind behind it all," Ms. McInerney said. "We don't think she would have done it but for him."
In October, Barrett pleaded guilty to one count of welfare fraud in exchange for a suspended three-year sentence. She has promised to repay the benefits she received.
Tammy L. Johnson of Randallstown pleaded guilty to a felony theft scheme charge, agreed to repay the money and was given probation before judgment. She was accused of stealing more than $5,200 in benefits between May 1992 and June 1993.
James Kesselring of Finksburg was found guilty of one count of welfare fraud in August. He received a suspended three-year sentence and was ordered to repay $2,700 in benefits he received in 1992.
Richard E. Martin II of Westminster was given probation before judgment and three years of supervised probation for his August conviction on one felony theft count.
He was charged with stealing more than $3,000 in welfare benefits.