Lima woman accused of stealing $21K in SNAP benefits

LIMA, N.Y. — A woman is accused of stealing $21,000 in SNAP benefits over the course of two and a half years in Livingston County.

Monique Charvenka, 36, of Lima, is facing charges including welfare fraud and grand larceny. Livingston County sheriff’s deputies say she had filed five false SNAP benefit applications with the county’s Department of Social Services. Deputies also say she failed to report a change in her employment and household income status to the department.

Deputies began investigating in July 2024 and Charvenka was arrested on Monday of last week. She’s accused of stealing the benefits from September 2019 to April 2022. Charvenka was taken to the Livingston County Jail.