cost

Ten arrested in Salem food stamp fraud case

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

MCCF Inmate Roster
(Click inmate's Name to go to VINE for that inmate)
 

26-MAR-2013 07:00 Inmate Roster
 

MCCF

1. PANIAGUA-MILLAN, HOLVER

PANIAGUA-MILLAN, HOLVER SID: 19965451 LODGED

Lodged: 03/07/2013 19:30 Max: DoB: 06/16/1990

Arrest: SMP Type: PROBABL Docket: 13C41494 Hold Auth: MARION

Charge Bail Status Next Court Release

1 RACKETEER 170000 PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

2 COMP FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

3 STAM FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

4 COMP FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

5 STAM FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

6 COMP FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

7 STAM FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

8 ID THEFT CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

9 ID THEFT CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

10 COMP FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

11 STAM FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

12 COMP FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

13 STAM FRAUD CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

14 ID THEFT CO BAIL PRETRIA04/08/2013 08:30 CIRCUI

Arrest: ICE Type: OTHER Docket: Hold Auth: ICE

Charge Bail Status Next Court Release

1 ICE HOLD NO BAIL ICE


 

  Read more about Ten arrested in Salem food stamp fraud case

Immigration activists seek the right to drive legally

Sindy Avila came to the United States from Mexico when she was 2.

Kassandra Marquez was born in the United States, but just a few months after her parents arrived from Mexico.

What drew them and about 100 others to a rally Tuesday at the Capitol was the issue of reinstating Oregon driver’s licenses for immigrants who lack proof of legal presence in the United States.

Oregon lawmakers are expected to consider legislation soon to change the 2008 law requiring such proof to receive licenses and identification cards.

“We stand together in solidarity with our parents and valued members of our community to let our politicians know that we need driver’s licenses,” Avila said at the rally. “They are a necessity for people to go to work, to provide food for their families and to contribute to our community.”

Marquez’s mother was five months pregnant with her when her parents crossed the border.

“My father goes to work daily, living in fear of getting detained by the police,” she said. “This affects me and my family, because he is our only provider for our household. It is my fear that one day, while he is driving to or from work, I will not be able to see him again.”

Several others told their stories, mostly in Spanish, but withheld their last names.

The rally was organized by Oregon Dream Activists, which sponsored a similar rally Oct. 30 after several students walked from Portland to Salem over four days to call attention to their cause.

At the Oct. 30 rally, Gov. John Kitzhaber was the target of advocates who thought he could reverse the 2008 law via an executive order. Kitzhaber has since announced his support of changing the law, and supporters at Tuesday’s rally hid his name from a banner proclaiming “Restore Our Licenses Now.”

(Page 2 of 2)

The same federal law also allows states to issue licenses that are “clearly marked” as invalid for federal purposes.

Washington and New Mexico are the only states with such licenses not requiring proof of legal presence, although Washington also issues an “enhanced” license that can be used for travel to and from Canada, as well as federal purposes. Residents of other states must obtain U.S. passports for Canadian travel.

Utah issues driving privilege cards that must be renewed annually.

Kitzhaber announced 11 months ago, in a message delivered at a May Day rally, that a task force would try to come up with solutions. He has not said what form the legislation may take.

“This bill is important for a significant segment of our economy,” he said at a news conference on Feb. 11.

“We want a driver’s license that is not discriminatory,” said Marco Mejia of Jobs with Justice, a group based in Portland, during the rally.

Immigrant-rights groups say that many drivers without immigration documents cannot obtain or renew their licenses, forcing them to use public transportation or forgo licensed driving.

But Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which has been critical of federal immigration policy, has defended the 2008 law as a safeguard against the abuse of licenses.

Mira Conklin, who spoke for the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, said national borders are drawn by humans, not God.

“It’s a line that tries to tell us that a person born on one side of that line has more value than a person born on the other side — and we know that’s not true,” she said. “We know we all have value. Let’s work together to change the law.”

Peter Parks, a retired longshoreman and a spokesman for Jobs with Justice, said state legislation for driver’s licenses is only a step toward federal legislation for comprehensive immigration-law changes. “We have to keep moving,” he said.

Marco Mejia addresses those attending the Oregon Dream Activists rally on the Capitol steps, on Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2013, in support of restoring driver's licenses without having to show proof of legal presence in the United States.

What’s next

A bill is expected to be introduced soon that would allow issuance of Oregon driver’s licenses and identification cards without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States. A Senate committee heard but did not advance similar legislation in 2011.

House Bill 3226, which would allow issuance of licenses and cards to those who have been granted deferred status by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is pending in the House Rules Committee. Oregon officials already have determined that limited-term licenses can be issued to participants in the Deferred Action-Childhood Arrivals program authorized by President Barack Obama last year Read more about Immigration activists seek the right to drive legally

Senate Rejects Amendment to Deny Amnestied Illegal Aliens ObamaCare

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

Who's REALLY in charge?

A recent letter sent to Causa supporters:

On behalf of all of us here at Causa Oregon, we want to thank you for all your work and support. While there are still some big fights to win this year, we have accomplished so much in the first three months of 2013.

With your help, we have forged new alliances with our sisters and brothers in the LGBT, labor, faith, business and education communities. Together, we've harnessed the political power to pass the ten-year-long struggle for tuition equity in Oregon and gained national recognition for our collaborative work in registering new Americans to vote. And, just this week it was announced that Causa, the Act Network and our allies were successful in forcing the Multnomah County Sheriff to end his policy of detaining undocumented immigrants for low-level crimes and non-violent misdemeanors.

It's only three months in to 2013 and together we're already making historyThank you for being a tireless ally in our mission to promote the rights of Latinos and immigrants in Oregon. Together, we are ensuring a healthy, vibrant American democracy.

In Solidarity,

Francisco Lopez
Executive Director

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to take a moment to address the "successes" listed in the letter:

1.) Causa appears to be a group whose mission is to cause the ruling bodies of our state to CAVE IN to their demands.

2.) Causa appears to be a group that, by hooking up with legitimate minorities with issues, they hope that the public won't notice that they are advocating for the RIGHTS(?) of those in our country illegally. 

3.) Illegal aliens perpetrate crimes in far greater numbers than their 'legal' peers.  Yet, they seem to feel they shouldn't be in jail and that they deserve special treatment from the Multnomah County Sheriff....and he obliged their demand.

4.) The last line was the worst:  Thank you for being a tireless ally in our mission to promote the rights of Latinos and immigrants in Oregon. Together, we are ensuring a healthy, vibrant American democracy.

First of all, Latino's and legal immigrants have rights.  Do Latino's have special rights?  Causa simply chooses to drop the word ILLEGAL from their immigrant vocabulary and hopes that no one will notice.  After all, who doesn't want to help an 'immigrant'?  And, to make matters worse, claiming they are ensuring a healthy, vibrant American democracy is just a LIE!  Here in Oregon, the cost of services to illegal aliens tipped the BILLION dollar mark.

Since when do any of us get to pick and choose which laws we obey and which laws we ignore?  People who come here illegally are breaking immigration laws.   If they work, they are breaking labor laws. If they steal, buy, or borrow a social security number, they are committing identity theft. But, shhhh...don't say anything about that....that's not nice.  They are bringing the culture of corruption from their homeland, right to our front door.

But, all that aside, the thing that bothers me the most, are the lawmakers that are bending over backwards to work with groups like Causa.  That's the most disappointing of all!  Elections are a great opportunity to clear the decks! Read more about Who's REALLY in charge?

Man gets 25 years in child's death

A 24-year-old Keizer man will serve 25 years in prison in connection with the 2011 death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son.

Marion County Presiding Judge Jamese Rhoades handed down the sentence Tuesday to Gerardo Chavarria, who changed his plea to guilty to charges of manslaughter and two counts of criminal mistreatment of Sebastian Iturbe, waiving his right to a trial.

A jury trial had been scheduled for the first week of April. Chavarria’s convictions will result in his deportation from the United States after he finishes his sentence.

After a change to the indictment, which changed a murder charge to manslaughter, Rhoades asked Chavarria what he did the day of Nov. 5 that made him feel he was guilty of causing Sebastian’s death.

“The day this happened I had just gotten up. I was drinking beer, watching TV with Sebastian,” Chavarria said. “He did something, I don’t remember what, that knocked over the bottle of beer. For whatever reason I got angry, and I hit his head against the floor.”

The gasps of Sebastian’s mother, Erika Iturbe, and her parents rang out in an otherwise quiet courtroom as Chavarria said he pounded the boy’s head against the floor with his hands. Sebastian then became quiet, he said, and he put the boy to bed.

“I got nervous. I didn’t know what to do,” Chavarria said.

He said he took Sebastian to Salem Hospital two to three hours later. The boy was later transferred to Oregon Health and Science University where he died of blunt force trauma to the head Nov. 6, 2011.

According to documents written by Keizer police, Chavarria first told a detective that Sebastian fell and hit his head outside the family’s basement.

Medical staff said the boy’s injuries weren’t consistent with that kind of fall.

According to the statement, Chavarria later said he pushed the boy with a plastic child carrier and saw him fall down the stairs, hitting his head multiple times.

Chavarria recounted two other incidents in court in which he caused injury to Sebastian, including one when he hit the boy with a belt and another when he hit the boy on the shoulder with his sandal.

District Attorney Walt Beglau said that he wanted to bring the case back to Sebastian.

Through organ donations, Beglau said, Sebastian saved three separate lives.

“It’s hard to describe with words what Sebastian’s death has caused on his mother and family who are here today,” he said. “For his family, it’s been loneliness, anger that comes and goes and irrepressible grief.”

Erika Iturbe and her parents were each given an opportunity to speak in court.

“We miss his laugh, his smiles ... I will never get to hear him say ‘I love you Mommy,’ ” Erika Iturbe said to Chavarria, who looked away and hung his head. “I can’t say I forgive you because I don’t. I hate you with all my heart.”

Chavarria refused the opportunity to speak in court, but after the hearing, his attorney Stephen A. Lipton spoke on his behalf.

“He is genuinely remorseful,” Lipton said. “He’s getting a sentence better than what he had the right to expect.”

Before the hearing, Rhoades viewed a home video of Sebastian playing and singing to his sister.

“It’s difficult to talk to you knowing you killed this beautiful little boy,” Rhoades said to Chavarria. “He was a delightful little boy and a beautiful child and now he’s gone.”

As recommended by deputy district attorney Jodie Bureta, Rhoades imposed a 25-year sentence, one she felt was not hard enough.

“Twenty-five years may not be enough, but it is what the court will impose,” Rhoades said.

NOTE:  Gerardo Chavarria - ICE hold
  Read more about Man gets 25 years in child's death

Dorchester Conference 2013

Over 200 people attended the 49th annual Dorchester Conference in Seaside, Oregon March 8, 9 and 10th.  The conference is great opportunity for conservatives to get together, talk politics and have some fun.  Check out our photos. Read more about Dorchester Conference 2013

DHS plans to release 5,000 illegal immigrants due to sequestration

House investigators learned Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials developed plans to release about 5,000 illegal immigrant detainees, although Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has denied responsibility for the decision.

“An internal document obtained by the House Judiciary Committee shows that Administration officials at ICE prepared cold calculations to release thousands of criminal aliens onto the streets and did not demonstrate any consideration of the impact this decision would have on the safety of Americans,” committee chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., announced.

The ICE document contains a table that proposes “reduc[ing] invoiced daily population by 1,000 weekly.” Between February 22 and March 31st, this plan would drop the number of detainees from 30,748 to 25,748.

“The decision to release detained aliens undermines the Department of Homeland Security’s mission to keep our homeland secure and instead makes our communities less safe and more vulnerable to crime,” Goodlatte said. “[R]egardless of sequestration, DHS actually has plenty of funding to pay for the detention of criminal aliens. Unfortunately, it seems Administration officials are more interested in using sequestration to promote their political agenda than as an opportunity to get our nation’s fiscal house in order.”

Napolitano said that it wasn’t her decision, even though ICE is part of DHS. “Detainee populations and how that is managed back and forth is really handled by career officials in the field,” she told ABC.

She also confirmed that the releases would continue. “We are going to manage our way through this by identifying the lowest risk detainees, and putting them into some kind of alternative to release,” Napolitano said at a Politico event, per The Daily Caller.

The New York Times profiled a “low risk” detainee released by ICE. The detainee was taken into custody “when it was discovered that he had violated probation for a conviction in 2005 of simple assault, simple battery and child abuse, charges that sprung from a domestic dispute with his wife at the time.” NRO’s Jim Geraghty asked, “If convictions for ‘simple assault, simple battery and child abuse’ make you ‘low-risk,’ what do you have to do for Janet Napolitano to consider you ‘high-risk’?” Read more about DHS plans to release 5,000 illegal immigrants due to sequestration

OSU student spells out the flawed thinking of the instate tuition benefit - HB 2787

Gabriella Morrongiello, a sophomore at Oregon State University, and chairman of the OSU Young Americans for Freedom testified before the House Committee of Higher Education at the hearing for HB 2787.  She was poised and eloquent.  Following her testimony she submitted an article about the proceedings to the Barometer (the OSU campus paper), who felt it was too controversial to publish. 

So, she submitted the article to the New Guard which is the national blog sponsored by the Young America's Foundation.  Read Gabriella's article here.

  Read more about OSU student spells out the flawed thinking of the instate tuition benefit - HB 2787

OR Legislature puts the law before the horse

Rep. Michael Dembrow and his band of co-horts are attempting to usurp Federal law by not only allowing foreign nationals, most likely illegally in our country to remain here, but now they want to give them an instate tuition benefit so they can attend college here.

I have asked this question repeatedly and not gotten an answer:                                                                                                                                                      How will these students and their parents pay for college?  Several students testified that they or their parents are working 2 or 3 jobs already.             Is that not another law being broken?

Is it just me...am I the only one who thinks we have we become too 'tolerant' of these lawbreakers?  To think that we can sit in the State Capitol Building - the hub of lawmaking in Oregon - surrounded by kids that freely admit they are here illegally and so are their parents and siblings.  They admit they are working several jobs (and most likely driving to those jobs without a license or insurance). And nothing happens to them.  "Living in the shadows", haha...it wouldn't appear so.

Barely allowing testimony from the opposition at yesterdays hearing, these legislators hope to pass a bill that would allow these student lawbreakers to be awarded the opportunity to pay instate tuition at our colleges and universities. 

Then what?  We will have subsidized the college education of illegal aliens who will be competing for jobs with college graduates that are US citizens.                Sounds like people need to stop and think first.  This is a bad idea.

When does this stop?  When do we finally say enough is enough?

 


  Read more about OR Legislature puts the law before the horse

Kitzhaber to back bill on immigrant tuition

Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected today to put his political weight behind a bill allowing in-state tuition rates to state university students who lack immigration documents.

He is scheduled to be joined by speakers for Associated Oregon Industries, Oregon Business Association, Portland Business Alliance and the Oregon Association of Nurseries — and the three leaders of the House Higher Education Committee, which will take up House Bill 2787 for its first public hearing on Wednesday.

Among its sponsors are Chairman Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, and the vice chairmen, Republican Rep. John Huffman of The Dalles and Democratic Rep. Chris Harker of Beaverton.

Kitzhaber took no public stance on a similar bill two years ago, when it passed the Senate but died without a vote in an equally split House. But when he presented his two-year budget on Nov. 30, Kitzhaber said he would sign such a bill.

The current bill is similar in that it requires residency in Oregon for three years before high school graduation, graduation from high school in Oregon, and steps toward legal status in the United States. The latter would be in the form of affidavits filed with the state university attesting to applications for legal status or an intent to apply for it as soon as someone is eligible.

It also provides for a direct challenge of the law before the Oregon Supreme Court.

A similar law was upheld by the California Supreme Court in 2010, and the U.S. Supreme Court let it stand in 2011 when the justices declined to hear an appeal by opponents.

Although he is a sponsor of the bill, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said legislative leaders have agreed it is up to the House to act first this session. The Senate passed bills in 2003 and 2011, but each died in the House.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 12 states — including Washington and California — have laws allowing in-state tuition rates for undocumented students. Two states have done so through other means.

Four states specifically ban such rates, and two others bar enrollment of any students who cannot prove legal presence in the United States.

The political battle lines in Oregon will be the same as in 2011.

Immigrant-rights groups and student groups will support the bill. A comprehensive federal immigration bill could make action by states unnecessary, but as Causa Oregon’s Erik Sorensen said, “I do not anticipate Congress is going to have anything that soon.”

Oregonians for Immigration Reform, which has been critical of federal immigration policy, will oppose it again. But Jim Ludwick of McMinnville, a spokesman for the group, said opponents will emphasize arguments that the bill would be a money loser for the state because higher out-of-state tuition rates would not apply to those students.

Given that Democrats have majorities in both chambers this session, Ludwick said, “it’s going to be tough for us.”

What’s next

The House Higher Education Committee will conduct a public hearing on House Bill 2787, which grants in-state tuition rates to state university students without immigration documents, at 8 a.m. Wednesday in Hearing Room D in the Capitol. Overflow rooms are likely to be designated.

The committee plans a “work session” Friday, when it could advance the bill to a vote of the full House.
Follow all our political and state government coverage on the Oregon Politics Watch blog, StatesmanJournal.com/politics

Calendar

Selected legislative committee meetings and other events this week. Agendas are subject to change; for updates, call the numbers listed or see the Oregon Legislature’s website at www.leg.state.or.us.

Wednesday

House Higher Education: 8 a.m., Hearing Room D. Public hearing on House Bill 2787, allowing in-state tuition rates for university students without immigration documents. (503) 986-1664. Read more about Kitzhaber to back bill on immigrant tuition

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