Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Barbara Elkins also received a three-year suspended sentence and was placed on probation for three years at a hearing Thursday in Roanoke County Circuit Court.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Claytor had asked Judge Kenneth Trabue to impose a prison term for Elkins, calling her a "welfare queen."
Earlier evidence has shown that Elkins, 38, collected $30,000 in food stamps, welfare benefits and Medicaid payments she was not entitled to from September 1992 to July 1994. Authorities say Elkins misrepresented her income when applying for benefits by not reporting more than $10,000 she received in a settlement from an automobile injury.
While she was receiving public assistance, Elkins purchased a swimming pool for her boyfriend, a used van, and other luxury items.
"She's a thief and a liar, and basically she was using taxpayer money to support herself when she went on a spending spree," Claytor said.
Rick Buchanan, a Roanoke lawyer who represented Elkins, said that characterization was "very unfair."
He pointed out that Elkins was caring for two small children and suffering from medical problems at the time, and she did not realize that she was required to report the money from the settlement.
"She didn't spend the money on herself at all," Buchanan said. "It was spent on her fiance and her children. She herself was not having a lavish lifestyle."
Elkins, who could have been sentenced to a maximum term of 20 years in prison, was ordered to pay back $19,259. Trabue allowed Elkins to serve her jail term on weekends, and said she could pay some of the money back by performing community service.
by CNB