November 7, 2018
Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that Yazzmine Cato, 33, of North Las Vegas, was arrested on four felony charges for her role in a welfare scam. The charges include two counts of Theft in the Amount of $3,500 or More, a category “B” felony, and two counts of Unlawful Acts Concerning Federal Food Stamps, a category “E” felony. The alleged scam was committed between May and August 2017.
According to the complaint, while employed with the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, Cato used her position to obtain benefits from the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services. Cato fraudulently opened and approved Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program accounts in order to personally collect benefits from these accounts.
“The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services is designed to provide assistance to individuals truly in need, and my office will continue to work with members of this division to monitor suspicious activity and prosecute fraudsters seeking to take advantage of this public assistance program, said Laxalt.”
Cato is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on January 8, 2019. This case results from a joint investigation by the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services: Investigations and Recovery, and the Office of the Nevada Attorney General. This case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Criminal Prosecution Unit.
A complaint is merely a charging document; every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
To view the criminal Complaint against Cato, click here. To file a complaint about someone suspected of committing a fraud, click here.
CATO, YAZZMINE
(Photo courtesy of the Clark County Department of Corrections)
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