A California government employee has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity and food stamp fraud.
Former Madera County benefits eligibility worker Leticia Mariscal, 55, of Madera, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for stealing identities and fraudulently obtaining Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in their names.
CalFresh, formerly known as a “food stamp” program, provides qualifying California residents with monetary benefits to help them purchase food. The benefits are funded by the federal government, while the administrative costs for running the program are shared among federal, state, and local governments.
Court records say that between July 2022 and June 2025, Mariscal improperly used county databases to which she had access through her job to obtain identifying information for individuals who weren’t United States citizens, were elderly, or were deceased.
She then secretly approved these individuals to receive or continue receiving CalFresh benefits, printed EBT cards in their names with the benefits deposited thereon and spent the money on herself and her family members.
For example, for the individuals who were not United States citizens, Mariscal would obtain their identifying information, contact them, and falsely inform them that they had to provide the county with certain immigration records to continue receiving benefits.
She took these steps so that these individuals would fear suffering immigration consequences if they tried to continue receiving benefits and would stop using them. She would then take the benefits for herself.
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Altogether, Mariscal stole more than $40,000 from more than 15 people. The SNAP program feeds about 41 million people nationwide but criminals prey on the program and steal benefits meant for the poor.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated with assistance from the Madera County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Arelis Clemente are prosecuting the case.
Mariscal is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Mariscal faces a statutorily required sentence of two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account many variables.
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