DNA used to uncover welfare fraud

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Officials of a Minnesota county say they've begun using DNA tests to flush out and prosecute a different kind of criminal -- welfare cheats.

For years, law enforcement has used DNA identify and pursue murderers, rapists and robbers, but Anoka County in Minnesota is in the lead nationally in using it to investigate welfare fraud, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Thursday.

In a recent case, Moshi Chilwana of Blaine, Minn., received a total of $62,335.28 in public assistance for medical appointments, food stamps and child care, listing an uncle as the only other resident in her home and claiming the children's father lived abroad.

But court-ordered DNA tests proved the "uncle" was in fact the father, who bought the house for $232,000 and owned a Mercedes-Benz.

Officials from the state's largest counties, Hennepin and Ramsey, said they couldn't recall DNA being used to criminally prosecute a welfare fraud case, but Anoka has done so at least eight times in the past three years, the Star Tribune said.

"The stakes are high in these cases because of the dollar amounts, which is why they get charged with a felony," Bryan Lindberg, head of the property crimes division for the Anoka County attorney's office, said. "The DNA test makes our case that much stronger."