February 27, 2015
ONTARIO COUNTY, NY – The Steuben County District Attorney’s Office says 38 year old Christina Prichard of Canandaigua, formerly of Hornell, is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in a welfare and medicaid fraud scam.
D.A. Brooks Baker says that Prichard, while working as a home aide for a senior citizen, is alleged to have forged hundreds of checks and used credit cards and double billed the county AIM and childcare programs. She’s also accused of falsely reporting her income to get medicaid benefits. Baker noted that Hornell Police Investigator Tom Aini, Sheriff’s Investigator Robert King and Marcus Smith, discovered the forgeries allegedly done by Prichard.
Officials say there are 271 counts against her. State Police charged her with grand larceny, forgery, welfare fraud, falsifying business records, and offering a false instrument for filing. Christina Prichard was remanded to Steuben County Jail.
State Police, Hornell Police, the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, the Fraud Unit of the Steuben County Department of Social Services, all worked together on this case.
