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Domestic Abuse Fraud: It’s Rarely Suspected

and Rarely Detected
A Case of Domestic Abuse Fraud Shows It’s Rarely Suspected

By JULIE BOSMAN
OCTOBER 22, 2009

In the city’s rich history of fraud schemes, the cases described this week
by the city’s Department of Investigation would not seem to rank up
there with mortgage scams or fake Medicare patients: Six women were
accused of posing as victims of domestic violence to gain subsidized
housing.

Such cases are so rare, and the issue so sensitive, that city o�cials and
advocates for domestic violence victims said that they are not usually
on the lookout for fraud when people come forward with claims of
abuse.

“The screening process that we have is really designed to understand

what situation the person is in and how to best go about developing a
safety plan for the individual and their children,” said Yolanda B.
Jimenez, the commissioner of the Mayor’s O�ce to Combat Domestic
Violence, which operates two free drop-in centers, one in Brooklyn and
one in Queens. “For everybody who calls, everyone who walks through
the door, their claims are taken at face value.”

More than 36,000 people have sought help at the centers since 2005
and can receive legal support, counseling and emergency shelter,
among other services. Ms. Jimenez said she believed that there was no
fraud involved in any of those cases.

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There would not seem to be much �nancial gain to domestic violence
fraud.DUBAI
But there are a range of public bene�ts available to women
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have been beaten by their spouses or companions. The women who
were arrested forged documents, including police reports, identifying
themselves as abuse victims to gain priority for government subsidized
housing, o�cials said this week.

There are long waiting lists for the housing, and only three groups of
people are given priority: former foster care youths, intimidated
witnesses referred by prosecutors, and victims of domestic violence.

Nonpro�t organizations o�er services including immigration assistance,

�nancial counseling and free legal advice to domestic violence victims.
Victims who are not legal United States residents can gain eligibility for
a so-called U visa, which will eventually lead to a green card, said Chris
Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services. The agency screens applicants through law
enforcement agencies, which provide referrals and documentation, Ms.
Rhatigan said.

In certain cases, victims of domestic violence who receive welfare are

granted a waiver from work requirements. They also can stay in one of
42 emergency shelters for abuse victims, which are often smaller and
more nurturing than typical shelters, with a higher sta�-to-client ratio.
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At the city o�ce in the Bronx where families apply for shelter, people
who identify themselves as domestic violence victims are interviewed
for up to an hour to determine if they need emergency shelter.

No documentation is required to prove abuse, said Barbara Brancaccio,

a spokeswoman for the city’s Human Resources Administration, which
operates domestic violence shelters.

At the shelters, employees occasionally discover that women have

exaggerated their abuse, but they are not forced to leave the facilities,
Ms. Brancaccio said.

Bonnie Genevich, a division director for Good Shepherd Services, which

runs a 20-bed shelter in Brooklyn for domestic violence victims, said
sta� members conduct thorough interviews. “We ask them a lot about
the relationship to the abuser, the level of abuse, if there is a criminal
record, if there’s been drug abuse, whether they’ve been abused during
pregnancy, how often the incidents have occurred, where they
occurred,” she said. “As you go on and on, you could tell if the story
doesn’t hold together.”
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That said, the system is not “set up to catch people,” she said, adding
that she has never encountered a case of fraud.

Howard Marder, a spokesman for the New York City Housing

Authority, where the suspected housing scheme was uncovered, said
the agency reviewed all applications to check for “irregularities or
alterations.”

At least two forms of documentation are required to obtain abuse

victim status, and they could include a police report, order of
protection and family court petition.

But in many cases, agencies will provide help even if victims of abuse
have not called the police or sought treatment for injuries.

“Some of them can’t or don’t have the documents they need,” said
Maureen Curtis, the associate vice president of Bronx Criminal Justice
and Community Programs for Safe Horizon. “Does it mean that the
person is not a victim of domestic violence? No.”

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