UNION CITY, Ind. -- A Union City couple has been charged after they reportedly defrauded the Union City Housing Authority out of thousands of dollars for lying about their employment status on their approved application.
According to court documents filed earlier this month in Randolph County, 67-year-old Kenneth Stumpff and 55-year-old Letitia Stumpff were both charged with one count of welfare fraud, but the amount is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony; and one count of fraud - where the loss is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony.
Investigators were first made aware of the allegations against the Stumpffs in September 2023; they first started receiving benefits in 2020. Officials said the Stumpffs filled out an application for assistance and claimed their only source of income was their social security benefits.
After their application was approved, the Stumpffs began to receive benefits from the Union City Housing Authority to help with utility bills and rent. The authority told investigators that they found out in September 2022 that the Stumpffs reportedly owned businesses in Louisiana and had recently sold a house in Louisiana, none of which was reported to the housing authority.
The housing authority then began a repayment plan for the Stumpffs after they found out this information. Officials told investigators that the total amount that the Stumpffs and the housing authority agreed for them to pay back was $5,492. The documents state that the Stumpffs "faithfully paid $100 a month for nine months."
In June 2023, the authority reportedly received an anonymous letter from a person who was apparently "familiar with the Stumpffs when they lived in Louisiana." The letter claimed that they both worked for Bennett Trucking, they sold the house and that they did not file taxes. This led to further investigation by the authority into the Stumpffs.
"After receiving all of this information, the housing authority began the process to terminate the Stumpff's assistance due to failing to report real estate and additional income," the documents read.
During the hearing into their termination, the authority voted to request charges be filed against the Stumpffs for lying on their applications and fraudulently receiving benefits.
In a March 2024 interview, the Stumpffs told investigators that they did not know they had to report the sale of the house, or the overall income from Louisiana because it happened in a different state. They also stressed that they received less money from the sale than was reported.
The investigators told the Stumpffs that "from the housing authority's point of view, since they did not report additional income, they may not have qualified for the benefits they received."
"It appears that they misled them on their application," the documents read.