Drug convicts getting benefits illegally

The Indianapolis Star reports:

More than 1,000 convicted drug felons in Marion County may be illegally receiving state welfare benefits, according to preliminary findings of a joint state and federal investigation.

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced the findings, which now must be individually verified, at the beginning of a Public Integrity Summit this morning bringing together state investigators from a variety of agencies. So far, Marion County is the only county examined, but the investigation will soon move statewide.
Drug felons are not eligible to receive food stamps or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Daniels said that Kim Devoy, an investigator with the Family and Social Services Administration; Deb Currey, an FSSA auditor and Lisa Nelson, an agent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, devised a system to compare those receiving assistance with those who have felony drug convictions.
The preliminary investigation shows that more than 1,500 matches.
"Some of these may be false positives. That will all be very carefully checked, of course," Daniels said. "But it's very obvious that well over 1,000 people today are receiving that benefit that would run to millions of dollars per year in one county alone."

Heh.