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Former NAACP leader who posed as black woman accused of welfare fraud

By Ed Adamczyk

May 25 (UPI) -- Former NAACP chapter president Rachel Dolezal, who three years ago acknowledged she is white, is now facing welfare fraud charges in Washington state.

Dolezal has been accused of first-degree theft by welfare fraud, second-degree perjury and false verification for public assistance.

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Court documents indicate she improperly received $8,747 in food assistance and $100 in child care assistance from August 2015 through last November, KHQ-TV reported.

If convicted, she faces as many as 15 years in prison.

An investigation began after the Oregon Department of Social and Health Services learned she'd received income for a book she wrote while reporting less than $500 in income. A subpoena of self-employment records indicated she'd deposited nearly $84,000 into her bank account between August 2015 and September 2017 without reporting it.

The money, court filings said, came from her book and speaking engagements, soap making, doll making and artwork sales.

Dolezal made headlines in 2015 when she acknowledged she was born to white parents, but previously had said she was African-American. She ultimately stepped down as president of the NAACP's Spokane, Wash., chapter amid the controversy and changed her legal name to Nkechi Diallo.

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