Woman admits years of food-stamp fraud

 A 38-year-old Kalispell woman pleaded guilty Wednesday during U.S. District Court proceedings in Missoula to theft of federal property by fraud.

Wendy Renee Houser-Bond applied for and received food stamps between Sept. 20, 2002, and Dec. 6, 2008, based on the reported income of herself and her husband. 

Houser-Bond misrepresented the couple’s income, failing to indicate that they earned a combined $310,000 during the six-year period.

If Houser-Bond had reported their income correctly, it would have affected their eligibility for federal benefits. When confronted with the information, Houser-Bond admitted she had intentionally misled the government.

In a December 2010 hearing, she was ordered to repay $29,000 in benefits she had received.

At some point prior to that hearing, Houser-Bond and her family moved to Washington and again applied for and received welfare benefits from September 2010 to May 2011. She again concealed income, resulting in overpayments of $10,154 in federal benefits.

On June 30, 2011, Houser-Bond signed up for further federal benefits, which she received from that month through May 2012. For a third time, she misrepresented the family’s income and also falsely stated she and her husband had separated and no longer lived together, receiving $1,696 in overpayments.

The third deception was discovered and she again admitted her actions when confronted.

In total, Houser-Bond received nearly $41,000 in federal benefits. She has agreed to pay restitution.

Houser-Bond now faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine when she is sentenced on March 20, 2013. She is currently released on special conditions.