Court Opinion

ID: 9693278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 16:34:18.175315+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:44.013622
License: Public Domain

*193KELLY, Judge,
concurring:
I have no hesitation in joining the able opinion of my learned colleague Judge Johnson. I write separately to note two additional observations.
I agree with the majority that no federal preemption was intended by 42 U.S.C. § 408. Indeed, delegation and integration, rather than preemption, are the settled norm in welfare fraud prevention, detection, and sanction. See generally Commonwealth v. Ferguson, 381 Pa.Super. 23, 34-47, 552 A.2d 1075, 1080-86 (1988) (outlining the history of the state’s role in combatting fraud in assistance programs); State Investigation of Fraud in AFDC Program (U.S.O.I. G.1987) (describing the delegation to states of the principle responsibility to prevent, detect and sanction AFDC welfare fraud, discussing federal efforts to facilitate state enforcement efforts); Pennsylvania Office of Fraud and Abuse Investigation and Recovery — Annual Report 1986-87 (1988) (outlining state efforts to prevent state and federal welfare fraud). Indeed, recent state and federal cost sharing arrangements for welfare fraud enforcement efforts have resulted in dramatic improvements in welfare fraud recoupment. See Commonwealth v. Ferguson, supra, 552 A.2d at 1086. I note that the federal government’s primary reliance on state enforcement efforts to combat welfare fraud is typified by the requirement that states administering AFDC and food stamp programs adopt fraud detection plans. See e.g. 45 CFR § 235.110.
In Commonwealth v. Ferguson, supra, this author explained: *194552 A.2d at 1085. The same is true of finite federal assistance funds, which are intended to shoulder a portion of the state’s total public assistance burden.
*193Pennsylvania has a paramount interest in seeing that its limited public assistance funds are distributed as provided by law. If some welfare recipients receive more than their rightful share of these finite resources through fraud, then it is likely that other needy persons will be adversely affected either by reductions in assistance or by the Commonwealth’s inability to increase assistance. Moreover, deterrence of welfare fraud is necessary to maintain public support for such programs.
*194With regard to the double jeopardy issue, I note that the analysis set forth in Commonwealth v. Abbott, 319 Pa.Super. 479, 466 A.2d 644 (1983), was expanded upon in Commonwealth v. Savage, 388 Pa.Super. 561, 587, 566 A.2d 272 (1989). Abbott and Savage both establish that the mere availability of a federal forum for similar fraud charges in no way precludes this state prosecution from proceeding on state charges also applicable to appellant’s criminal misconduct.