Racine files residency fraud lawsuits against 6 Maryland parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

It is the place of taxpayers to judge. They’re paying for it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Disagree 100 percent. Investigate them all. You don't have to prosecute them all, but kick out all the kids and prosecute some parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Disagree 100 percent. Investigate them all. You don't have to prosecute them all, but kick out all the kids and prosecute some parents.

Why prosecute parents? To criminalize poverty? To waste hours and hours of expensive attorney time that could be spent going after real criminals? What is the point? We get that you given absolutely zero effs about children who are not your own, what good is served by bankrupting the parents, and having them thrown in prison for contempt in not paying these huge treble damages?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Disagree 100 percent. Investigate them all. You don't have to prosecute them all, but kick out all the kids and prosecute some parents.

Why prosecute parents? To criminalize poverty? To waste hours and hours of expensive attorney time that could be spent going after real criminals? What is the point? We get that you given absolutely zero effs about children who are not your own, what good is served by bankrupting the parents, and having them thrown in prison for contempt in not paying these huge treble damages?

Everyone is doing the best they can..why prosecute anyone for anything! You know how many kids steal from CVS after school and 7 - eleven, hell should we just let them! I mean you are so ridiculous I don't know why we are even talking about this, of course parents will do what they will, but doesn't mean shouldn't be prosecuted. How about you let them stay with you in your house across the line, or better yet you buy a house and let all border cheaters live in it, there has to be a limit somewhere. That's why few prosecutions happen cos they have to be egregious and have strong evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Those families are stealing spots from other families and defrauding the system. Period.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it's this time year, but the lack of collective conscious/empathy that you have for children is disgusting. Let's throw their parents into Les Miserables-style debtors' prisons? Bankrupt them? And then the children end up on public benefits? In the foster system? You are just as sociopathic as they parents at who you are foaming...at the mouth, to throw in jail.

[Anonymous]

If there are social welfare costs, at least DC taxpayers won’t have to bear them because the fraudsters reside in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Disagree 100 percent. Investigate them all. You don't have to prosecute them all, but kick out all the kids and prosecute some parents.

Why prosecute parents? To criminalize poverty? To waste hours and hours of expensive attorney time that could be spent going after real criminals? What is the point? We get that you given absolutely zero effs about children who are not your own, what good is served by bankrupting the parents, and having them thrown in prison for contempt in not paying these huge treble damages?

Guess what? An awful lot of the scammers are not in poverty. They “work” for the District government while taking their good paychecks home to Maryland (where they pay their taxes). As if this weren’t a bad enough deal for DC taxpayers, then the fraudsters steal educational services from DC, maybe to get a free or low cost before-and-after-care slot on the way to work. If scammers work for the DC government, they should be summarily fires for dishonesty and fraud.

[Anonymous]

In the JKLM area it may be people with nice HHI but that's not the case east of the river.

In my ward 8 school, it is definitely people below the poverty line. They use the 3 year old class as their free day care (free after care too) and send the older ones to the school too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Disagree 100 percent. Investigate them all. You don't have to prosecute them all, but kick out all the kids and prosecute some parents.

Why prosecute parents? To criminalize poverty? To waste hours and hours of expensive attorney time that could be spent going after real criminals? What is the point? We get that you given absolutely zero effs about children who are not your own, what good is served by bankrupting the parents, and having them thrown in prison for contempt in not paying these huge treble damages?

Guess what? An awful lot of the scammers are not in poverty. They “work” for the District government while taking their good paychecks home to Maryland (where they pay their taxes). As if this weren’t a bad enough deal for DC taxpayers, then the fraudsters steal educational services from DC, maybe to get a free or low cost before-and-after-care slot on the way to work. If scammers work for the DC government, they should be summarily fires for dishonesty and fraud.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several neighbors in Takoma, DC are sending their kids down the street to school in Takoma Park. Their IB school would be Coolidge. Instead they're in a top middle school. Parents do what they need to do for the welfare of their kids. It's not our place to judge. Trust that there are many DC kids in school in MC and PG. We are inter-related communities. The money spent going after these people could be used to go after real criminals.

No judgement just face the consequences if get caught. The implications are many re. planning, staffing, resources, etc. Think big picture not small...

Right, but the cost/benefit of these cases doesn't seem worth it. Fire DC workers for fraud, fine. Prosecute SNAP abuse, fine. But these parents are not going to be able to afford treble damages. And there are many parents shuffling kids back and forth across DC/MC/PG border. So spend all of the money investigating and then charging and then having a trial and....no recovery. When there are many parents in each jurisdiction doing this, and having done this for decades particularly in the border wards (4, 8, etc.). I asked several coworkers who grew up in Maryland but went to school in DC on their grandparents' address. Their response was that everybody did when they were growing up. Sure, our tax dollars are supporting them - but PG/MC taxpayers are supporting DC kids, too. Parents are going to do what they think works best for their kids. period.

Those families are stealing spots from other families and defrauding the system. Period.

Spot on. I can’t believe there grown adults like the Tacoma Park poster who think this type of unethical behavior is ok and model it for their children. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic “let’s make an example out of scheming poor people” case. Sad we care so much.

Kick all the kids out, stealing education. The horror...

Most of these people are NOT poor.

Yep. Not wealthy but half were city employees or federal contractors.

How do you know that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic “let’s make an example out of scheming poor people” case. Sad we care so much.

Kick all the kids out, stealing education. The horror...

Most of these people are NOT poor.

Yep. Not wealthy but half were city employees or federal contractors.

How do you know that

you read the complaints or Racine's press releases, which talk about the USDA contractor and the DC Department of Corrections workers. They are not prosecuting people who were homeless and living back and forth across two jurisdictions. They are prosecuting people who live in perfectly nice houses in Maryland and have for many years, but kept stealing DC resources. I'd be fine with a family living in Takoma DC being prosecuted for sending their kid to MCPS schools fradulently. I'm glad Racine is safeguarding our resources. Every dollar we save from not educating a MD kid (and it's more like $14,000 each year) can go to actually helping needy DC kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a classic “let’s make an example out of scheming poor people” case. Sad we care so much.

Kick all the kids out, stealing education. The horror...

Most of these people are NOT poor.

Yep. Not wealthy but half were city employees or federal contractors.

How do you know that

you read the complaints or Racine's press releases, which talk about the USDA contractor and the DC Department of Corrections workers. They are not prosecuting people who were homeless and living back and forth across two jurisdictions. They are prosecuting people who live in perfectly nice houses in Maryland and have for many years, but kept stealing DC resources. I'd be fine with a family living in Takoma DC being prosecuted for sending their kid to MCPS schools fradulently. I'm glad Racine is safeguarding our resources. Every dollar we save from not educating a MD kid (and it's more like $14,000 each year) can go to actually helping needy DC kids.

Thank you, I hadn't read them.

This is disgusting.

[Anonymous]

The people I know personally or have heard of who commit residency fraud are all middle class--teachers, LEOs, etc. And they have no qualms about doing it.