With the economy in shambles and a job market that seems to never grow, more and more people have turned to government assistance programs to get help through these difficult times.  But what happens when someone takes a helping hand, that doesn’t really need one?  What happens when someone who makes tens of thousands in tips as a dancer is still collecting food stamps?  What happens when someone uses that hand-out to get cosmetic surgery?  You know what happens…they keep getting government assistance until they get caught…and hopefully they do get caught.  This is exactly what happened to a Broward County woman earlier this week when she got a little too comfortable with her new “free money.”

A 28 year old woman from Greenacres, Florida received $900 – $1100 in aid each month to feed her and her 5 kids.  Little did the government know that this woman was bringing in close to $90,000 in tips as a dancer.  But since the government was offering, she was taking.  Just so you know, she thoughtfully used the government hand-out to help her get a leg up and make sure her kids didn’t go hungry.  So doing what most concerned mother’s do, she purchased some of life’s essentials for her family…you know…things like some cosmetic surgery, a kick-ass car stereo, and other personal knick knacks that every family needs.

As you can probably imagine, the woman was sentenced to one and a half years in federal prison and must re-pay the nearly $25,000 she received.  It’s too bad that some people can’t just use the system the way it was designed to be used…as a “temporary” crutch until you get back up on your feet.  Read the original story below.

Original article: Food stamp fraud convict had plastic surgery and souped-up car