FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: JUNE 27, 2019
RE: PRESS RELEASE - Four Ellenville Residents Plead Guilty to Criminal Use of a Public Benefit Card for using SNAP benefits to Buy Drugs
Ellenville residents, Melinda Baker, age 51, Melissa Quick, age 39, Paula Sciancalepore, age 53, and Robin Shaver, age 58 have each plead guilty to Criminal Use of a Public Benefit Card in the Second Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor.
These defendants were arrested as part of a Federal/State/Local joint task force investigation into a heroin distribution ring which operated in Ellenville. During the course of the investigation law enforcement learned that these individuals were cheating the food stamp system by selling their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, issued through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for roughly 50 cents on the dollar and using the cash to purchase heroin.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Luba Reznikova.