Sale of wood pellets leads to welfare fraud charge

KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A New Paltz woman accused of selling wood pellets she’d received from the county’s Home Energy Assistance Program is facing a felony welfare fraud charge, officials said Thursday.

Madeline DiSalvatore, age unavailable, was arrested by Ulster County sheriff’s deputies on March 7.

An investigation by the Ulster County Department of Social Services’ Special Investigation Unit, in conjunction with the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, found that between November 2015 and January 2017, DiSalvatore received $1,126 worth of packaged wood pellets from the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which were intended to be used to heat her residence, according to the office of Ulster County Executive Michael Hein.

Instead, according to Hein’s office, the pellets were sold by DiSalvatore using the internet and “diverted from their intended purpose.”

DiSalvatore was released with a ticket to appear in Ulster Town Court.

Also arrested in welfare cases this month by Ulster County sheriff’s deputies and the Special Investigation Unit were:

• Charity Post, age unavailable, of Wallkill, on March 28, charged with the felonies of welfare fraud and offering a false instrument for filing. Post allegedly received federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits from August 2016 through December 2016 from both Georgia and New York. She is accused of filing an online recertification application claiming to live in the two states simultaneously. As a result, according to Hein’s office, Post received $2,641 in duplicate SNAP benefits.

Post was released with an appearance ticket for Ulster Town Court.

• Angela Solcberg, age unavailable, of Saugerties, on March 28, charged with the felonies of welfare fraud and offering a false instrument for filing. Solcberg allegedly failed to report changes in her address, household composition and income from January 2016 through January 2017, resulting in her receipt of $1,395 in SNAP benefits to which she was not entitled.

Solcberg was released with an appearance ticket for Ulster Town Court.