Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the mastermind behind the Boston bombings, was receiving Massachusetts state welfare benefits while pursuing his radical transformation toward violence.
According to the
Boston Herald, the 26-year-old Tsarnaev and his wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, along with their 3-year-old daughter, were on welfare until 2012 when their income exceeded the eligibility limits.
A spokesman for the state Health and Human Services Department told the Herald they "were not receiving transitional assistance benefits at the time of the [Boston Marathon bombings].”
The benefits ended, an attorney representing Katherine Russell Tsarnaev told the Herald, when she began working as a home health aide for up to 80 hours a week while Tsarvaev stayed home with their daughter.
Tsarnaev’s parents also received state welfare benefits when he and his brother, Dzhokhar, who is accused of helping him carry out the bombing attack, were younger, the Herald reported, citing state records.
"The news raises questions over whether Tsarnaev financed his radicalization on taxpayer money," the Herald said.
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