New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang announced Monday that a Buffalo woman has been sentenced for fraudulently collecting over $6,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Carmella Miller, 39, was handed a five-year probation sentence and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service by Erie County Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens. Miller was also directed to repay $6,406 to the state.
Miller concealed multiple sources of household income—including her earnings from Edison Home Health Care, her work as a Lyft driver, and her husband’s salary—to unlawfully obtain the benefits. Her conviction on charges of Grand Larceny and Welfare Fraud, both Class D felonies, is part of an ongoing crackdown on SNAP fraud led by state and local authorities.
This case is the latest in a series of SNAP-related fraud prosecutions in Erie County. Just last month, Rodney Jones, 60, also of Buffalo, was sentenced for falsely reporting household income to collect over $9,000 in SNAP benefits. Jones additionally defrauded the Social Security Administration (SSA) of more than $72,000 by concealing his wife’s earnings.
“Fraud undermines the core purpose of programs like SNAP and Social Security, which are essential lifelines for vulnerable New Yorkers,” Inspector General Lang said. “Today’s sentencing reinforces our commitment to protecting these critical public assistance programs and ensuring they remain available to those who genuinely need them.”
Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of public assistance programs. “This public assistance benefit program is reserved for low-income individuals and families who truly need help paying for food and other basic needs,” Keane said, praising the collaborative investigation efforts that led to Miller’s conviction.
Inspector General Lang commended the investigative team and thanked the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and the county’s Department of Social Services for their cooperation. Key investigators included Philip Druss, Jill Florkowski, Amanda Brennan, Erynn Migaj, Christopher Martello, and Meghan O’Dell. The team was overseen by Deputy Inspector General Jeffrey Hagen, Chief of Investigations Martin Stanford, and Attorney-In-Charge of Welfare Matters Andrew Weiss.
The Inspector General’s office and its partners are ramping up efforts to detect and prosecute fraud in programs intended to assist the state’s most vulnerable residents.
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