R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-6-15 (2026)

Fraudulently obtaining assistance

✓ current as of July 2026
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Any person who by any fraudulent device obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person to obtain, public assistance, pursuant to this chapter, to which he or she is not entitled, or who willfully fails to report income or resources as provided in this chapter, shall be guilty of larceny and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment of not more than five (5) years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, if the value of the public assistance to which he or she is not entitled shall exceed five hundred dollars ($500); or by imprisonment by less than one year or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both, if the value of the public assistance to which he or she is not entitled shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1982–2016 · leading case: State v. LaPlante, 962 A.2d 63 (R.I. 2009).
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State v. LaPlante, 962 A.2d 63 (R.I. 2009). · cites it 4× “Before this Court is an appeal by the defendant, Susan LaPlante, from judgments of conviction for fraudulently obtaining public assistance in violation of G.L.1956 § 40-6-15 and for giving a false document to a public official in violation of G.”
Winsome Elaine Vassell v. U.S. Attorney Gen., 839 F.3d 1352 (11th Cir. 2016). “to which he or she is not entitled,” R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-6-15, no doubt also "unlawfully takes .”
Winsome Elaine Vassell v. U.S. Attorney Gen., 825 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2016). “to which he or she is not entitled,” R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-6-15, no doubt also "unlawfully takes .”
State v. Young, 447 A.2d 390 (R.I. 1982). · cites it 2× “1956 (1977 Reenactment) § 40-6-15. 1 A jury found Mrs. Young guilty of willfully and fraudulently obtaining public assistance from the State of Rho-de Island and of willfully and unlawfully failing to report income from employment to the welfare department.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.