People v. Daman CA3

FACTS

Prosecution’s Case On September 19, 2005, defendant signed and submitted an application for aid to the Siskiyou County Human Services Department (HSD). Section 14 of the application for aid required the applicant to state the dollar amount of any trust deed, notes receivable, stocks, or bonds that he or she had. Defendant left this section blank and signed the application for aid under penalty of perjury. The following day defendant returned to the HSD and Sandra Luetke, an eligibility worker, went over a “SAWS Statement of Facts” (SAWS Statement) with him. A SAWS Statement is an application for food stamps and Medi-Cal benefits, and is based on the information provided by the applicant in the application for aid. In the SAWS Statement defendant represented that he did not own any stocks, bonds, or real estate, or any other assets, except a vehicle with an estimated value of $50 and $3 in cash. Defendant signed the SAWS Statement under penalty of perjury. It was stipulated that defendant owned an approximate 13 percent undivided interest in 2,358 acres of undeveloped land, designated the Jack Liskey Estate Ranch (Liskey Ranch) “on or about August 16, 2001, and at all times…