DA: Williston Park Chef One of 12 Charged with Welfare Fraud

An East Meadow man who worked as an executive chef in a Williston Park restaurant is one of 12 persons being charged with Medicaid fraud according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

According to the district attorney's office, between July 2011 and February 2012 Eric Engvaldsen, 48, stole more than $15,000 in Medicaid, food stamps, and public assistance benefits for his household by falsely reporting income of $35 per shift at a fake pizzeria.

Engvaldsen was arrested on April 26 and pled guilty to third degree welfare fraud in late May.

In total, the 12 persons arrested are charged with stealing more than $370,000 in Medicaid, food stamps, and other taxpayer-funded public assistance benefits according to Rice.

“Public assistance programs are designed to provide basic necessities to the less fortunate, not to scam artists who think nothing of padding their own wallets on the backs of the taxpayer,” Rice said in a release. “Hiding your success to abuse a program like Medicaid is deplorable, and my office will continue to collaborate with our fellow agencies to not only arrest these criminals, but to secure the repayment of every stolen dollar.”