A heartless California welfare worker stole the identities of elderly and dead people in a sick scheme to rip off more than $40,000 in food benefits — and then tried to blame a local gangbanger, prosecutors have alleged.
Former Madera County benefits eligibility worker Leticia Mariscal, 55, allegedly stole the information of more than 15 people to claim cash benefits, which she then spent herself at Costco, Sam’s Club and Von’s, according to the feds.
She was able to swipe their details from county databases, which she had access to as a part of her job.
Mariscal, a longtime California benefits staffer formerly with Fresno County, then secretly approved those people for CalFresh — the state’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits program — printed EBT cards in their names, prosecutors said.
The welfare worker was busted when the son of a 91-year-old in a nursing home pointed out that she didn’t need food aid, according to the complaint.
Mariscal allegedly used the elderly mom’s info to rack up some $3,000 in benefits.
Mariscal admitted to the stony-hearted scheme after being confronted with security footage showing her opening accounts and racking up charges at local big-box stores, the complaint states.
However, she attempted to pin the fraud on a local gang member and former boyfriend who bought and sold the stolen welfare cards, including to her family members.
She claimed she was scared of him in a bid to shift blame, prosecutors charged.
In total, Mariscal is accused of stealing more than $40,000 in benefits between December 2020 and April 2025.
The alleged scheme comes as the California Department of Social Services — the agency responsible for administering CalFresh benefits — faces criticism over errors in benefit calculations.
The California State Auditor labeled the state agency “high risk” last week due to widespread errors in eligibility determinations.
The CDSS had a payment error rate of 11% in the 2024 fiscal year, attributable to inaccuracies in participants’ wages and salaries, according to the audit.
California’s error rate is roughly the national average, the auditors said.
Still, the high error rate means the Golden State may have to shoulder billions in new costs under President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which ties federal SNAP funding to mistakes in state payments.
In a response letter, the agency’s chief operating officer, Julianna Vignalats, disputed the auditor’s finding, saying that the federal government created the financial risk — not the state.
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