The headlines keep on coming.   66 people charged with welfare fraud in June.   73 charged in July.   63 more charged in August. The names of the defendants include many from Northwestern Pennsylvania.  They live in West Springfield, Titusville, Erie, and Meadville.  The man in charge of the agency that conducts the investigations is Pennsylvania Inspector General Bruce Beemer.

"The vast majority of citizens are good, hard working taxpayers.  That's a very important thing to them,  And when they see, whether it's in the store, whether it's with a neighbor, whether it's with somebody, they see somebody who they think is cheating, or they see somebody who they think is obtaining money that comes from the Commonwealth, which means it comes from the other taxpayers of the Commonwealth, I think it bothers folks," Beemer said.

The Office of Inspector General investigates cases involving SNAP, which is the program that supplies plastic cards for eligible persons to purchase items from grocery stores. The office also investigates fraud cases involving medical assistance, and LIHEAP, the program that helps families pay heating bills.

"We have folks that steal thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars a year, that they are not entitled to and it's our intent to make sure that they are held accountable, along with the District Attorney's offices all across the state," Beemer said.

During the last fiscal year, Erie County has 651 field investigations that saved  taxpayers a total of $1.6 million in future fraudulent payouts.  34 prosecutions led to over $377,000 in restitution.

Crawford County was not far behind.  There were 433 investigations that saved taxpayers future payouts of $1.3 million.  14 prosecutions led to $241,000 in restitution. Cost savings statewide were $75 million.

"We have an extremely high success rate when we file criminal cases.  The vast majority of them, individuals end up pleading guilty," Beemer said.

D. Robert Marion, Erie County Assistant District Attorney, agrees that welfare fraud cases rarely go to trial.

"Typically, the cases are resolved through either a plea agreement.  They plead guilty and they pay some restitution up front, or they go into Accelerated Rehabilitated Disposition, which is a program for non-violent, first time offenders," he said.

The Office of Inspector General is also cracking down on people who sell their access cards.  Some merchants are illegally buying the cards, and pin numbers, at 50 cents on the dollar.  The seller gets cash to use to buy illegal drugs.   The merchant gets the full amount on the card.  Some store owners in Erie have already seen the wrath of the Inspector General's Office.

"We're really looking to crack down on vendors, store owners, and others. If you pay people out improperly for their benefits, we're coming, and we're really looking to enforce that.  We've seen that as a problem in mid-sized cities and communities around the Commonwealth.  Erie is one of them," Beemer said.

The Inspector General's Office relies on the public to report suspected cases of welfare fraud. The agency's Tip Line is 800-932-0582.

The Office of Inspector General was created by an executive order in 1984, but its powers were limited. But, last September, Governor Wolf signed a bill into law making the office a permanent state agency with the authority to issue subpoenas and search warrants.

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