taxes

A Salem grocery store owner and nine of his customers were arrested in connection with a food stamp scheme that cost Oregon’s nutrition assistance program at least $120,000 during the past year, according to Salem Police.

Officers started watching Pantiaguas Produce on 1805 Silverton Road NE after a customer called to complain that an acquaintance stole the money off his Oregon Trail Card.

“He was upset because he said ‘I am trying to feed my family off that card,’ ” Lt. Steve Birr said.

When officers investigated the theft, they discovered a troubling pattern.

Birr said customers would enter the store with their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards and owner Holver Paniagua-Millan, 22, would do one of two things.

“If you had $160 on your card, he would swipe it for $160 and pay you $80 and keep $80 for himself,” Birr said. “Or he would keep the card, and go out and buy meat for his taco stand and then pay you 50 cents on the dollar for what he ran up on your card.”

Paniagua-Millan was earning about $5,000 per month from the scheme, Birr said.

About 800,000 Oregonians used EBT cards in 2012, said Gene Evans, spokesman for Oregon’s Department of Health Services.

The cards allow people to purchase only certain foods and household products from participating retailers. The state’s fraud team investigates individuals who either falsify information to obtain the cards or try to use them in an unauthorized manner.

On March 7, officers and agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to start making arrests. During a three-hour stakeout, they arrested Paniagua-Millan and four of his customers. Paniagua-Millan was charged with racketeering, five counts of computer fraud, five counts of food stamp fraud and three counts of identity theft.

Four other people were arrested later.

Retailer fraud — which is alleged in this case — is handled by the federal government.

“We make sure that people who are caught committing fraud are disqualified from the program,” Evans said.

Whether that disqualification is permanent or temporary depends on how much money a person stole and for how long a period of time he or she was stealing.

He pointed out that in 2012, less than one percent of food stamp recipients — about 4,000 cases — were caught using their cards fraudulently.

“We want to make sure that the people who are getting the benefits are the people who need them,” Evans said. “Incidents like this hurt the credibility of the program and people who need it.”

As for Pantiaguas Produce, Evans said the Department of Agriculture would decide whether to suspend the store’s ability to accept EBT payments.

“I can’t speak to what the outcome will be, but this wasn’t inadvertent,” Evans said. “This looks like intentional activity.”

Birr said there could be more arrests in this case as well as new investigations into other retailers.

“We are probably going to pursue more investigations with the Agricultural Department,” Birr said. “I think this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Paniagua-Millan

Other arrests

The following people were arrested in addition to Paniagua-Millan:
• Meleda Cook, 54, of Keizer faces charges of two counts of food stamp fraud
• Heidi Timberman, 40, of Salem faces charges of food stamp fraud, possession of heroin and a parole violation
• Joseph Sieg, 49, of Salem faces a charge of food stamp fraud
• Mary Vaughn, 55, of Salem faces a charge of food stamp fraud
• Bob Ullom, 51, of Salem faces charges of two counts of food stamp fraud and two counts of identity theft
• Craig Clendennen, 47, of Salem faces charges of food stamp fraud and identity theft
• Amber Roseander, 19, of Salem faces charges of food stamp fraud, attempted food stamp fraud and identity theft
• Ronnie Crawley, 32, of Salem faces a charge of food stamp fraud
• Melanie Farmer, 39, of Keizer faces a charge of food stamp fraud

astaver@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6610, or follow on Twitter @AnnaStaver

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20130326/NEWS/303260027/Ten-arrested-Salem-food-stamp-fraud-case

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In a telling vote early Saturday morning, the Senate rejected an amendment (#614) by true immigration reformer Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to the Senate's 2014 budget bill that would deny illegal aliens ObamaCare and Medicaid in the event Congress passes an amnesty bill later this year. (The Hill, Mar. 23, 2013)

"My amendment would simply say if you are here illegally and then get lawful status, you do not qualify for ObamaCare and Medicaid," explained Sen. Sessions ahead of the vote. (The Hill, Mar. 23, 2013) Long-time pro-amnesty Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate "Gang of Eight" who was recently investigated for hiring an illegal alien intern, argued against the Sessions' amendment, saying "current law already explicitly excludes undocumented people from receiving benefits." (Id.)

Although illegal aliens are prohibited from receiving subsidized healthcare under ObamaCare, non-immigrants and immigrants (green card holders) are allowed coverage. This means that if Congress grants amnesty to the 11-12 million illegal aliens currently in the U.S., those aliens will be eligible for subsidized healthcare from day one of legalization. So far, the Senate "Gang of Eight" proposal does nothing to prohibit illegal aliens from receiving these benefits.

Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) voted with the Democrat majority to deny the sensible reform measure 43 to 56. To see whether your Senators voted to support subsidized healthcare for amnestied aliens, check the vote here. To find your Members of Congress to tell them to oppose Obamacare and other benefits for amnestied aliens, click here. Read more about Senate Rejects Amendment to Deny Amnestied Illegal Aliens ObamaCare

I just returned from Congressman John Lewis’ Faith and Politics Pilgrimage to Alabama and was deeply moved by the experience.

Fifty years ago, courageous Americans stepped out of their comfort zone and confronted an unjust segregation system that not only debased black America but white America as well.

I was struck by the intimate stories of complacency toward an immoral social norm by white businessmen and the church. I was amazed by the bravery of the black youth who saved a foundering downtown economic boycott in Birmingham, despite the water hoses and dogs of Bull Connor. I was entranced by the bravery of two black students willing to face a hate-filled Gov. George Wallace and a thousand others at the college doors in Tuscaloosa. I was overwhelmed with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s epiphany at the kitchen table in Montgomery late one night that he must conquer his fears and do what is morally right. I was in awe of the marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma who knew they faced violent opposition on the other side, but marched and suffered horribly anyway.

Much like then, America now faces another soul-searching moment surrounding an outdated, irrational and dehumanizing immigration system. One hundred years ago, America took all comers to its shores. Now our byzantine immigration system encourages would-be immigrants to put their livelihoods on the line in order to seek the American dream. It makes criminals out of business owners and farmers for hiring folks to do work that no one else will do; work that Americans benefit from and take for granted every day. And it generates an unconscionable trade in human beings and human rights violations that operate in dark shadows, often beyond our legal and law enforcement systems.

The discussion about immigration is not about documented and undocumented immigrants. It is about the very nature of who we are as Americans — our beliefs, our morals and our need to share the unalienable rights our immigrant forefathers bequeathed upon us 238 years ago. The loud lack of acceptance among a vitriolic few diminishes hope in aspiring Americans and undermines the progress we have strived for since our country’s inception. Is this our Christian theology? Are these the values of our Declaration and Constitution? Is this how we raise our children?

Merchants and farmers whisper to me that they need and value their employees as individuals and they are critical to the fabric of a recovering American economy. But these voices must be raised loudly and convincingly in your community, in the papers and with your state and federal representatives. As Dr. King often quoted, “Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.”

While individual churches and their charities have exhibited great acts of kindness toward many vulnerable families who have immigrated to our country, the leaders of organized religion must collectively demand an end to an unjust system — a system that separates husbands, wives and children for years; a system where getting to the “back of the line” means waiting 20 years; a system that allows a two-caste system for worker rights in this country.

I am pleased to see young people, particularly in Latino communities, begin to step up like the African-American youth did 50 years ago. Their bravery in stepping up without legislative guarantees and solely on the president’s executive order on the Dream Act is courageous. They captured America’s attention with their votes in this last election. Without Mano y Mano and thousands of youth-oriented groups like it across America, we would not be having the discussion of comprehensive immigration reform today in Congress.

What remains is for Congress to have our own epiphany. To do right no matter the political cost and march across that bridge despite some vehement opposition at home. As Dr. King said in his letter from his Birmingham jail cell, “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere ... Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere in this country.” Read more about Rep. Kurt Schrader: Faith, politics and immigration reform

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight senators aim to cap months of talks next week with a comprehensive deal to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, a member of the bipartisan group said on Thursday.

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a longtime reform advocate, said once the agreement is done, aides will draw up legislation that could be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee in April.

"That's our goal," Menendez told Reuters. "We hope to agree on all of the major issues, hopefully, by the end of next week. But it could slip a bit," he said, perhaps by a couple of days or so.

"I'm not rigid about anything other than getting it right," Menendez said.

The timetable Menendez spelled out mirrored one that the group suggested earlier this year. It said it aimed to have a bill in March and a vote by the full Democratic-led Senate in June or July.

The eight senators - four Democrats and four Republicans - announced a "framework for comprehensive immigration reform" in January and have been working to flesh it out.

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, many of them living in the shadows while seeking work and trying to avoid detection.

The eight senators have tried to draft a plan that would include a pathway toward U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrants while strengthening border security.

They also want to create a more effective system to guard against U.S. employers hiring undocumented immigrants, and develop a program to better forecast and meet future U.S. workforce needs in a bid to curb illegal immigration.

The eight senators came together shortly after the November 2012 election results reflected the growing power of Hispanic voters and their pleas for immigration reform.

"There have been hard and tough negotiations, but it has been done all in the spirit of achieving the goal, in which compromise has been made on both sides," Menendez said.

The senators have worked with the encouragement of the White House and reached out to members of the Republican-led House of Representatives.

This week Obama met separately with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, mainly to talk about budget deficit concerns. But immigration reform also was discussed.

On Wednesday, Obama told a closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats that immigration was "'something that we can get done,'" Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland said.

On Thursday, Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, a member of the group of eight, said he thanked Obama for "playing a role that's behind the scenes."

Flake said the issue of future immigration to the United States is a sticking point for Democrats, and that Obama could build support for that part of the pending immigration bill.
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