A Lincoln judge has fined a 29-year-old Afghan woman $2,000 in a public assistance fraud case.
Arzoo Rashidi pleaded no contest to two counts of attempting to obtain assistance benefits by fraud, both misdemeanors. Prosecutors had lowered the charges in exchange for her pleas.
Rashidi has paid back the more than $3,700 in food stamp benefits and nearly $6,400 in Medicaid benefits.
Court records say that in 2010 Rashidi applied for the benefits while visiting relatives in Lincoln. She said she was a Nebraska resident unable to feed or provide medical care to herself and her child. The records say the benefits were used by her Lincoln relatives.
Rashidi, who lives in Kansas, immigrated to the United States while she was in high school.
