Ottawa woman escapes jail time at sentencing for $115k welfare fraud
by Joe Lofaro
Metro
Nov 25, 2013
The Ottawa courthouse. (Metro File)
A 38-year-old woman who inappropriately claimed more than $100,000 from welfare over the span of a decade was given a two-year conditional sentence Monday.
Shera St. Martin has so far paid back $50 of the $115,646.90 she pocketed from Ontario Works from 1998 to 2008. It will likely take years for the mother of two to pay back the rest.
Crown prosecutors said her living arrangement made her ineligible for welfare during the 10-year period. She was charged last December, but only pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 on Sept. 12. Court heard she received welfare while, at times, living with the father of her children.
PN 
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