CA man charged with welfare fraud in Ontario Co.

The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office reports that a Canandaigua man has been charged with grand larceny and welfare fraud after collecting more than $12,000 in benefits that he was not eligible to receive.On March 23rd at 2:15 pm Howard R. Pierce, 45, of Canandaigua was charged with one count of welfare fraud in the third degree and grand larceny in the third degree following an investigation that revealed he had failed to report his household income between January 1st, 2013 through January 31st, 2014. The Ontario County Department of Social Services requires this information be reported subsequent to New York State Civil Services Law. Deputies report that as result of the misreported income, Pierce received $12,445.21 in medical assistance benefits to which he was not entitled.Pierce was arraigned in the Geneva City Court and committed to the Ontario County Jail without bail. His hearing took place on March 24th. It’s unclear how he answered the charges at this time. FingerLakes1.com will provide updates to this story as details become available.