AUGUSTA — A Clinton woman has been charged with defrauding the state of more than $10,000 in food stamps and other benefit programs by falsely claiming her three children lived with her.

Theresa M. Rice-Goodrich, 32, of Clinton, pleaded not guilty Friday at her arraignment on a felony count of theft by deception and a misdemeanor count of unsworn falsification.

She was released afterward on $5,000 unsecured bail and as a condition of bail was ordered to surrender her passport.

Rice-Goodrich was arrested Wednesday on a warrant. She had been indicted by a grand jury in Kennebec County on Dec. 1 and the indictment was sealed until her arrest.

The indictment says the theft occurred between Jan. 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2011, in Kennebec County. The theft involved more than $10,000 worth of benefits from both Food Stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, according to the indictment.

It says Rice-Goodrich “did intentionally create or reinforce the impression that her three children were members of (her) household and were being supported by (her), which impression was false and which defendant did not believe to be true.”

The document involved in the unsworn falsification charge is included in the court file. It is a copy of a six-month report for the state Department of Health & Human Services, indicating four people, including Rice-Goodrich, lived in her household for the six months prior to Feb. 10, 2009.

The case is being prosecuted by the Maine Attorney General’s Office.


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