| For Immediate Release Case # 09CF2649
October 28, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
FORMER ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENT CHARGED
WITH STEALING $6,500 IN PUBLIC ASSISTANCE
BY FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINING AID FOR
WHICH SHE WAS INELIGIBLE
*District Attorney is seeking public’s help related to potential other frauds committed by defendant
SANTA ANA – A former Orange County woman has been charged with stealing $6,500 in public assistance fraud by cheating the system after moving out of the County and continuing to receive aid illegally. The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) is requesting the public’s help related to various other frauds as a result of the ongoing investigation. Jaelyne Jacsen, 48, is charged with four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid and one felony count of receiving aid by misrepresentation. She faces a maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison if convicted on these counts. Jacsen is being held on $100,000 bail and must prove the money is from a legal and legitimate source before posting bail. She is scheduled to be arraigned Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
In October 2007, Jacsen is accused of applying for Orange County public assistance while living in Lake Forest. The defendant qualified for a State program called “Safe at Home”, where she could maintain a confidential address when receiving public financial aid. Jacsen is accused of using an Orange County post office box for correspondence related to her public assistance.
Between July 1, 2008, and Jan. 31, 2009, Jacsen is accused of fraudulently collecting $6,500 in Orange County public assistance, despite having moved to Riverside and San Bernardino County. Jacsen is accused of abusing the Safe at Home system and committing public assistance fraud by receiving funds, despite not qualifying for aid because she no longer lived in the County. She is accused of committing perjury by completing quarterly documents, which are required by the State for anyone receiving public assistance, stating that her address had not changed in order to continue receiving checks.
In December 2008, the OCDA began investigating Jacsen. OCDA Investigators, with assistance from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, arrested Jacsen outside of her Victorville home yesterday, Oct. 27, 2009.
At the defendant’s home, a 22-year-old fugitive was found hiding in a bedroom closet. The fugitive, Jaycen Harold McCullen, had been living with Jacsen and had a probation violation warrant for his arrest out of Orange County stemming from a 2006 robbery (06HF0402).
Jacsen is accused of allowing McCullen to live in her home and share a room with her 15-year-old daughter, whom McCullen fathered a child with, now 2 months old. Jacsen’s 6-year-old grandson, 15-year-old daughter, and her 2-month-old baby were taken into protective custody in San Bernardino County. Additionally, seven dogs, six cats, and two hamsters were impounded from the home.