A Westbury woman was charged with grand larceny, welfare fraud, and offering a false instrument for filing for allegedly misreporting her household income and wrongfully receiving more than $50,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Tesean King applied to the Nassau County Department of Social Services (NCDSS) in July 2022 in support of her family’s certification for SNAP benefits. In her initial application, the defendant allegedly indicated that she lived with her husband and her two children on Prospect Avenue in Westbury and that she did not have any income or bank accounts. NCDSS approved King and her family to receive SNAP benefits from September 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023.
In December 2022, King allegedly received a $236,666 settlement check from a civil lawsuit and allegedly did not report the income to NCDSS.
According to the investigation, King allegedly used these funds to purchase three BMWs for herself and her husband. She purportedly deceived the car dealerships by allegedly falsifying her job and income information.
After receiving the settlement, she allegedly continued to submit SNAP recertifications between 2022 and 2023. In her recertification applications, the defendant allegedly restated that she received a public assistance grant but still did not have a savings or checking account.
As a result of the information submitted on her application, NCDSS approved King and her family to receive SNAP benefits from February 1, 2023 to August 31, 2025.
While on the program, King received approximately $54,417 in SNAP benefits to which she was not entitled.
In December 2024, NCDSS informed the defendant that it had discovered bank accounts in her name, and on March 2, 2025, NCDSS ended her SNAP benefits.
King, 31, surrendered to NCDA Detective Investigators and was arraigned on July 28, 2026, before Judge William Bodkin on charges of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Welfare Fraud in the Second Degree (both Class C felonies); and two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (Class E felonies).
King pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance. She is due back in court on August 31, 2026. If convicted, King faces up to five to 15 years in prison.
“Government assistance and benefits programs like SNAP are supposed to serve the people who need them most to provide for their families, but Tesean King allegedly exploited this important safety net by repeatedly filing recertifications for benefits she did not need,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “By allegedly lying about her income and assets, the defendant stole benefits she had no right to claim and used her hidden finances for vanity purchases of three separate luxury vehicles. These actions were selfish and illegal, and my office will never allow this kind of abuse to go unanswered.”