Arizona State Rep. Indicted on Welfare Fraud

An Arizona state lawmaker has been indicted on charges of welfare fraud, according to an AZCentral report.

Democratic Rep. Ceci Velasquez was charged in May with three felony counts in a fraud case involving SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Court documents presented allegations that Velazquez fraudulently used $1,726 in food stamps between 2013 and 2015.

Velasquez said the case is a "political witch hunt" in a post on Twitter.

I have done nothing wrong! This is a political witch hunt. I'm confident that justice WILL prevail once all the facts are known!

— Ceci Velasquez (@cecivelasquez_) June 22, 2016

If convicted, Velasquez would be required to resign from office. When she was elected in 2014, an outstanding warrant for her arrest revealed $2,000 in unpaid court fines on charges of driving with a suspended license and without insurance.

Velasquez is a second-generation Mexican-American who works as a paralegal, according to her Arizona Legislature biography.

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