People v. Hester CA4/2

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury found defendant and appellant Nichole Hester guilty as charged of one

count of welfare fraud, or “aid by misrepresentation” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 10980,

subd. (c)(2) count 1), and of three counts of perjury (Pen. Code, § 118, subd. (a);

counts 5, 6, & 7). The jury found defendant not guilty of three additional counts of

perjury (counts 2, 3, & 4).

The prosecution claimed that defendant knowingly, and with the specific intent to

deceive, made false statements regarding her household composition and income in an

August 2014 application for CalFresh (food stamp) benefits with the County of San

Bernardino (the County), and in six subsequently submitted semiannual status reports and

recertification forms, which defendant signed under penalty of perjury between March

2015 and September 2017. Count 1 was based on all the false statements that defendant

allegedly made between October 2014 and February 2018. Counts 2 through 5, the

perjury counts, were based on the false statements that defendant allegedly made in her

submissions to the County, which she signed under penalty of perjury in March 2015

(count 2), September 2015 (count 3), March 2016…