An NYPD officer accused of providing false financial information in an
attempt to qualify for subsidized housing turned herself in today.
The
Manhattan District Attorney’s office says 31-year-old Simone Smith, “who was assigned
to the 108th Precinct in Queens, was arrested on charges of welfare fraud,
forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument, attempted grand
larceny, falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for
filing.” Smith allegedly turned in old pay stubs and W2’s to the City’s
Department of Housing Preservation and Development in hopes of getting
$7,600 in assistance.
The AP reports NYC’s Department of Investigation says the pay stubs
Smith turned in made it seem as though she’d earned only
$32,258 in 2008, when she’d really earned $58,000. The defense attorney
currently representing Smith wasn’t in when the Voice called his
office this afternoon; hs partner, Elizabeth Crotty, points out that Smith
is a single mother.”This was a person who was trying to make ends meet,”
says the lawyer.