MILLERSBURG — A Big Prairie woman on Thursday was sentenced to a year in jail for defrauding the State of Ohio by falsifying records to obtain public assistance.
Kristy Dawson, 31, formerly of 13281 County Road 100, previously pleaded guilty in Holmes County Common Pleas Court to theft.
Since being charged, and even in the wake of entering her guilty plea, Dawson has failed to secure employment or pay any restitution, although, according to her attorney Andy Hyde, who said she is remorseful for her actions and “restitution is of paramount concern to her.”
After reviewing a long history of Dawson's prior criminal involvement, Judge Robert Rinfret chastised her for, effectively, stealing from the government and the children of Holmes County.…show more content… Then, he said, “We'll see how sincere you are.”
“I promise you, you will spend every day in jail if you don't get a job,” he said, adding Dawson is lucky legislative changes, based on her history, prohibited imposition of a prison term.
The charge emerged out of a collaborative effort between the Holmes County Sheriff's Office and the Holmes County Department of Job and Family Services, said Chief Deputy Richard Haun, noting the case was referred to fraud investigator Sgt. Maria Stryker in November.
At the time, Haun said, Dawson had falsely reported two minor children were living in her home, in an attempt to increase the amount of cash and food assistance she could receive.
A subsequent investigation revealed the two children in question were living with their father and had not resided with Dawson since 2009. Throughout the investigation, Dawson continued to lie about the children's whereabouts, said Holmes County Assistant Prosecutor F. Christopher Oehl.
Dawson, because of her reporting, received $2,405 in assistance to which she was not entitled, according to court
