The mother of Jamarion Lawhorn, the youngest murder suspect in Kent County’s history, is now facing felony fraud charges in addition to numerous other child abuse related charges. She is accused of scamming the government out of thousands of dollars in the form of welfare fraud.
Child Abuse Charges Lead To Fraud Discovery
Anita Lawhorn was scheduled to appear in the Kent County Circuit Court recently for issues pertaining to the upcoming child abuse trial she is facing. But she ended up being arraigned in the Grand Rapids District Court that day instead, charged with two counts of welfare fraud over $500.
According to court documents, the particular branch of the government victimized by the scam is the Department of Human Services. Apparently this is because she failed to accurately report the family’s income beginning back in 2010. In particular, they claim that she did not notify DHS of the social security benefits she was receiving from one of her children, and also didn’t tell them about her common law husband’s income.
Investigators from the Office of the Inspector General who were working on the fraud allegations, claim that Lawhorn received more than $88,000 over the years to which she was not legally entitled.
In addition to the fact that her three other children have been removed by the state, Lawhorn is facing charges for second and third degree child abuse, which could result in up to three years in prison if she is convicted of both. Now, she is also charged with two counts of welfare fraud over $500, which is also a felony and punishable by up to four years in prison.
But according to Lawhorn’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Crampton, these charges are simply DHS’s sad attempt to deflect blame onto his client after the scathing review of how they handled the situation with regards to Jamarion. He claims that the income was in fact reported and that the state is simply attempting to throw up a smoke screen in order to deflect attention away from their mismanagement of the Lawhorn family’s case.
This case is indeed very complex and has multiple layers, all intertwined and affecting each other in indirect ways. It remains to be seen how this aspect of the Lawhorn family’s legal troubles will pan out in the weeks and months to come.