Danielle Webb, 43, with a last known address of 24 Hawksley Ave. in Warwick, pleaded nolo contendere this week before Superior Court Magistrate John J. Flynn to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses and one count of giving false document for collecting more than $5,000 in unemployment benefits and providing false documentation in order to collect benefits while she was employed full time, according to Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. Webb was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $5,492 to the State of Rhode Island at the time of sentencing.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the state was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that between Dec. 22, 2007 and April 5, 2008 Webb failed to report her weekly earnings to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT) while she was working and was employed full time at Heritage Healthcare Services in Cranston. 

Rhode Island State Police investigator Michael Douglas of the Auto Theft & Insurance Fraud Unit led the investigation. Special Assistant Attorney General Genevieve Allaire Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General and the State of Rhode Island. Funded by RI DLT, Allaire Johnson prosecutes all unemployment insurance fraud, worker’s compensation fraud, prevailing wage violations and labor standards fraud cases.

“Since the establishment of the partnership with the Department of Labor and Training, my office has successfully prosecuted 11 individuals for unemployment insurance fraud with the court ordering in excess of $165,000 in restitution paid to the State of Rhode Island,” Kilmartin said in a statement.

“Dedicating the resources to root out fraud and waste in our safety net programs is crucial to its long term viability for those who truly need the assistance.”

Department of Labor and Training Director Charles J. Fogarty said, “The integrity of the unemployment insurance trust fund is something we fight to protect.”