Bobbie Quiroz Of Natrona County Given Probation For Obtaining Goods By False Pretenses

The former executive director of a Wyoming non-profit agency will avoid prison time after admitting to falsifying personal information in order to obtain benefits.

Bobbie Quiroz was given first time offender status, along with one-to-five years of probation, after she pleaded guilty to one charge of obtaining property by false pretenses.

The Wyoming Department of Family Services says from April 2010 through June 2014, there were numerous times when Quiroz applied for benefits such as food stamps, child care assistance, the supplemental nutrition assistance program and medicaid.

The DFS says in some of those applications, Quiroz did not include information about a second income from her job with the Quality Child Care Center, as well as her husband and his income.

There was also no information about a joint bank account.

She allegedly supplied altered mortgage and utility bills.

When the alleged fraud occurred, Quiroz was Executive Director of Nutrition and Child Development Incorporated, now known as Wyoming Nutrition Services Inc.

She no longer works there.

She is also accused of falsifying her quarterly wages to the DFS, when applying for assistance.

In one instance, she allegedly said she was going through a divorce to receive food stamps, when in fact she was living with her then-boyfriend who she eventually married.

If Quiroz completes her probation, the guilty conviction will be cleared from her criminal record.

Restitution of $33,500-plus has been paid in full.

At the sentencing hearing, a spokesperson for the DFS said, "The victims in this case are the taxpayers of the State of Wyoming. These programs allow those vulnerable citizens to help themselves. If the taxpayers lose faith in these programs, they're subject to be revoked. We need to tell taxpayers that welfare fraud will not be tolerated."