Any person who by any fraudulent device obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person to obtain, public assistance, pursuant to this chapter, to which he or she is not entitled, or who willfully fails to report income or resources as provided in this chapter, shall be guilty of larceny and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than five (5) years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, if the value of the public assistance to which he or she is not entitled shall exceed five hundred dollars ($500); or by imprisonment by less than one year or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both, if the value of the public assistance to which he or she is not entitled shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-6-15
Fraudulently obtaining assistance
Known as the Public Assistance Act
The act spans §§ 40–40 (53 sections).
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case Vassell v. U.S. Attorney General (2016)
Most recently applied in Vassell v. U.S. Attorney General (October 2016)
P.L. 1987, ch. 118, art. 13, § 2.
Official source: Rhode Island General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Rhode Island statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.