March 12, 2012

GOV. MALLOY ISSUES UPDATE ON D-SNAP INVESTIGATION

42 Individuals No Longer in State Service; Pool Expanded as a Result of Working with State Auditors

(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today issued an update on the investigation into possible fraud committed by state employees who applied for the Federal Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) following Tropical Storm Irene.

The investigation has led to 27 dismissals and 5 resignations, in addition to 10 individuals who opted to retire rather than going forward with an administrative hearing. All of the people involved could potentially face criminal charges.

"When we announced this investigation, we said that allegations of fraud by state employees would not be tolerated," said Governor Malloy. "While this is certainly not something anyone should take joy in, the people of Connecticut should know we are serious about running a government that honestly serves them."

The Governor also announced that an additional 240 applications by state employees for D-SNAP benefits have been identified by the Department of Social Services (DSS) and will be sent the Office of Labor Relations (OLR) for review, bringing the total number of state employee D-SNAP applications up to 1,053, out of approximately 23,000 applicants. The revised number of applications is the result of working with state auditors, who utilized different criteria and a different database to determine the pool of state employees that applied for the benefits.

"We've said all along that we were working with our partners at the state and federal level, and now we're seeing positive results for our taxpayers," continued Governor Malloy. "We will continue with this investigation until we have taken appropriate action against any employee that knowingly defrauded this federal program."

Thus far, 128 applications have been forwarded to agency heads for administrative review. As has been previously reported, 685 employees have been cleared of wrong doing. The Governor's Office will have additional information regarding the status of the investigation in the coming days.

Governor Malloy announced the investigation into the federal disaster aid program in December. D-SNAP funding was made available to low-income Connecticut residents who incurred disaster-related expenses from Tropical Storm Irene, including loss of income, temporary shelter costs and property repairs.

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For Immediate Release: March 12, 2012

Contact: Andrew Doba

Andrew.Doba@ct.gov

860-524-7308 (office)
860-770-8090 (cell)

Twitter: @GovMalloyOffice

Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy