Willington Woman Facing Felony Charge In CT Food Benefit Fraud Case

WILLINGTON, CT — A Willington woman is facing a felony larceny charge after her arrest last week in a food stamp fraud investigation.

Katelyn Ouelette, 26, was arrested Sunday on a warrant granted to the Connecticut Department of Social Services with the assistance of state police. She has been charged with first-degree larceny by defrauding the public and giving a false statement.

She posted a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court on March 14, judicial system records show.

According to a warrant on file at Rockville Superior Court, the state DSS received a complaint via its fraud hotline that Ouelette may be receiving payments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program while being ineligible, according to the warrant.

The DSS said she was receiving $740 per month in SNAP benefits and had claimed zero income and zero rent payments on her application.

The complaint on the fraud line claimed the father of her youngest child had moved in at the Willington address, therefore providing income to the home, according to the warrant.

DSS investigators then determined that the home was taking in income at a level equal to 130 percent of the DSS SNAP eligibility threshold for the 2023 calendar year, according to the warrant.

According to the warrant, DSS correspondence sent by mail as well as phone calls went unreturned.

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