A Baldwin woman was charged with grand larceny and other offenses for allegedly falsifying income records and inaccurately reporting her employment to receive nearly $100,000 in day care benefits from the Nassau County Department of Social Services, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Shamika Brown, 43, was arraigned on Oct. 1 on charges of grand larceny, welfare fraud and five counts of offering a false instrument for filing. She pleaded not guilty and, if convicted, faces up to five to 15 years in prison, according to the DA.
Donnelly said Brown applied to the Nassau County Department of Social Services in May 2019 to receive daycare subsidies for her three children. Brown stated in her application that her annual income of $25,000 came from her employment at a business called Hair Studio located in Brooklyn, Donnelly said.
Brown submitted an earnings statement from that business with an ADP Payroll Service logo and subsequently submitted similar earnings statements in conjunction with her recertifications in the three years that followed, the DA said.
Brown’s application was processed and she received daycare benefit payments between June 2019 and June 2023, Donnelly said.
A review of Brown’s benefits applications in March 2024 by the department uncovered that she had excluded her employment by American Express, Amazon, and a consulting firm for the period she received benefits, and over the four-year period, had made between $128,000 and $319,000 in annual income, the DA said.
A subsequent investigation into Brown’s employment found that the earnings statements she provided to the department were allegedly fraudulent, Donnelly said.
The investigation also found no record of Hair Studio being an ADP client or legitimate business, and the address listed on Brown’s alleged earnings statements submitted to the department belonged to another salon business for which she never worked, the DA said.
The income Brown received from her actual employment exceeded the income threshold that would have entitled her to be considered for childcare benefits, resulting in an overpayment of $99,687 in daycare benefits, according to Donnelly.
