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Prosecutors: Woman made up dependents for welfare benefits

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – A Lafayette woman was charged with three counts of welfare fraud after prosecutors said she reported having a child who never existed.

According to court documents, over the course of three years, Amanda Brummett, 33, claimed a son and a daughter in reports to the Tippecanoe County Division of Family Resources.

Investigators later learned Brummett did not have custody of her son, and there was no record of any daughter.

Prosecutors said the false claims allowed Brummett to collect nearly $12,000 in welfare payments and more than $10,000 in SNAP benefits between September 2012 and April 2016.