Cantonment Woman Charged With $19K In Public Assistance Fraud

January 17, 2023

A Cantonment woman is facing felony charges for alleged public assistance fraud.

Jessica Lee Showalter, 35, was charged with two counts of welfare fraud.

Between August 21, 2017, and March 31, 2022, Showalter falsely represented permanent household members, wrongly collecting $14,592 worth of food stamps and $4,427.62 in Medicaid benefits,  according to the State Attorney’s Office.

She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

Comments

18 Responses to “Cantonment Woman Charged With $19K In Public Assistance Fraud”

  1. JR on January 18th, 2023 12:42 pm

    There are thousands of these thieves in the Panhandle counties alone. If the government would investigate welfare recipients they could help correct the failed system and put many people back to work. Also, once caught cheating the system, the individual should be disqualified for life!

  2. Ya reckon on January 18th, 2023 11:47 am

    John Stanley……you have no clue what you’re talking about. Do or did you work there? Well sir, I retired from there after 35 hard years so I believe I am quite qualified to respond to your nonsense. There were no “friends and family” that aided anyone in committing fraud. Fraud has been going in the welfare system since it began. It’s nothing new. Catching these crooks is more than a full time job. And there is a fraud unit that works very diligently to catch these criminals. And it is overworked,
    understaffed and highly underpaid. When you come up with a plan, I’m sure we’d all like to hear it.

  3. SAD on January 18th, 2023 9:28 am

    How is it possible to defraud? When i applied I had to show proof of everything and got denied aside the 1 time i was approved for $8.00 a month in food stamps. I really needed the help at the time and wasn’t able to get it but people like her who don’t need it some how get it. It’s sickening, people who do this!

  4. Bewildered on January 18th, 2023 8:23 am

    Small fish!! She probably went to all the free food give always also.
    In New York everybody on unemployment gets free healthcare. A family of two adults can draw more than $100,000 /year in unemployment (no time limit because of Covid pays 0 for medical care. Supposedly 18 Million people are on Medicaid who shouldn’t be nationwide.

  5. Jd on January 17th, 2023 7:01 pm

    Gracious, wrongful (shameful, no conscience) unemployment checks totaled more than that just in 2020 alone. Maybe we’ll one day read about that person, now that the truth was discovered.

  6. Daniel peacock on January 17th, 2023 3:44 pm

    I can give a handful of names right now

  7. Lebowski on January 17th, 2023 3:31 pm

    @unanimous

    Are you suggesting that Florida residents don’t pay taxes?

  8. Unanimous on January 17th, 2023 2:43 pm

    Uhmmm AJ, which “tax payers” are you referring to??? Florida residents don’t pay a state tax…..

  9. Jd on January 17th, 2023 2:32 pm

    How about those who get unemployment checks but having no recent employment? Every morning…”hmm…do the floors or go to the beach”.

  10. John Stanley on January 17th, 2023 2:23 pm

    That place is run by friends and family and they are all taking advantage of the situation, the people who work down there are hooking up their friends and family while the people who actually need it

  11. Gary Navarro on January 17th, 2023 1:20 pm

    How come her bond is not at least the amount she defrauded?

  12. Julie on January 17th, 2023 1:16 pm

    Shameful

  13. Molino girl on January 17th, 2023 11:13 am

    How about the ones that have children in their home that can’t collectAny assistances because their family is drawing food stamps and other people can’t because the children are already claim be another family member.

  14. AJ on January 17th, 2023 11:07 am

    For five years this went on?
    What exactly, are the (taxpayer funded) state employees at the welfare office doing during this time?
    And now we are spending vast amounts more to arrest, prosecute, incarcerate & rehabilitate this citizen vs the 14k loss.
    What a waste of taxpayer dollars, everywhere.

    These state agencies need better oversight and accountability.

  15. mnon on January 17th, 2023 9:10 am

    Now go after the rest and maybe single, disabled adults can get more than $30 a month in food stamps.

  16. Susie on January 17th, 2023 8:35 am

    I don’t see how some people can live with themselves. It’s obvious they’re not thinking about the people who actually need those funds. They most definitely have “heart problems”. I hope she has to work to pay restitution and learns a difficult life lesson from it.

  17. NPC on January 17th, 2023 8:34 am

    Well said “C”. They caught one out of how many, thousands, maybe more?

  18. C on January 17th, 2023 7:05 am

    Now if they could get the rest of them that would be a start.