§ 38-40. Penalties; evidence.

(a)

Any person who, with intent to secure public assistance or relief under this article, whether for himself/herself or for some other person, willfully makes any false representations may, if the value of the assistance so secured does not exceed $300.00, be required to forfeit not more than $1,000.00; if the value of the assistance exceeds $300.00 but does not exceed $1,000.00, be fined not more than $250.00 or imprisoned for not more than six months or both; if the value of the assistance exceeds $1,000.00 but does not exceed $2,500.00, be fined not more than $500.00 or imprisoned for not more than five years or both; and if the value of the assistance exceeds $2,500.00, be punished as prescribed under Wis. Stats. § 943.20(3)(c).

(b)

Any person who willfully does any act designed to interfere with the proper administration of public assistance or relief shall be fined not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00 or be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 60 days.

(c)

Any dependent person who sells or exchanges supplies or articles furnished the person as assistance or relief or who disposes of such supplies or articles in any other way than as directed, with intent thereby to defraud the county and any person who purchases any article knowing it to have been furnished to another person as assistance or relief shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

(d)

Any person who does all of the following shall be fined not more than $500.00 or imprisoned for not more than 30 days or both:

(1)

Without legal authority, sends or brings a person to the county agency or its designee or advises a person to go to the county agency or its designee for the purpose of obtaining relief funded by a relief block grant, or aid provided under Wis. Stats. ch. 49, including medical assistance or food stamps.

(2)

Obtains a pecuniary advantage because the person is brought or sent or goes to the county.

(e)

Any person in charge of public assistance or relief or any of the person's assistants who receives or solicits any commission or derives or seeks to obtain any personal financial gain through any purchase, sale, disbursement or contract for supplies or other property used in the administration of public assistance or relief shall be punished as provided in Wis. Stats. § 946.13.

(f)

Where a person is originally eligible for assistance or relief and receives any income or assets or both thereafter and fails to notify the officer or agency granting such assistance or relief of the receipt of such assets within ten days after such receipt and continues to receive aid, such failure to so notify the proper officer or agency of receipt of such assets or income or both shall be considered a fraud, and the penalties in subsection (a) shall apply.

(g)

Any person who makes any statement in a written application for aid under this article shall be considered to have made an admission as to the existence, correctness or validity of any fact stated, which shall be taken as prima facie evidence against the party making it in any complaint, information or indictment, and in any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of any provision of this article.

(h)

If any person obtains for himself/herself, or for any other person or dependents or both, assistance under this article on the basis of facts stated to the authorities charged with the responsibility of furnishing assistance and fails to notify those authorities within ten days of any change in the facts as originally stated and continues to receive assistance or relief based on the originally stated facts such failure to notify shall be considered a fraud, and the penalties in subsection (a) shall apply. The negotiation of a check, share draft or other draft received in payment of such assistance or relief by the recipient or the withdrawal of any funds credited to the recipient's account through the use of any other money transfer technique after any change in such facts which would render the person ineligible for such assistance or relief shall be prima facie evidence of fraud in any such case.

(i)

Any person who accepts a relief voucher granted as relief and fails to tender the commodities authorized by the relief authorities to the relief recipient but in lieu thereof refunds to the relief recipient cash or substitutes any alcohol beverages or cigarettes not authorized by the relief voucher shall be considered to have committed a fraud, and the penalties provided in subsection (a) shall apply to that person.

(j)

"Public assistance" as used in this section includes relief funded by a relief block grant.

(Ord. of 9-12-89, §§ I, II)