A Welfare Scam for the Ages in, Where Else, San Francisco

A San Francisco city worker named Daisy Avalos and her girlfriend Maggie Pasigan have been charged with a case of welfare fraud for the ages. The pair allegedly sought and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds. The investigation into the pair actually started over a suspicion that Pasigan was not eligible for low-income benefits she was receiving.

Two San Francisco women, one of whom was a city employee, were charged Thursday in a Section 8 and childcare scheme that allegedly defrauded public benefits providers of more than $500,000, spokespersons for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said.

Maggie Pasigan, 49 and Daisy Avalos, 47, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of grand theft, welfare fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, officials said. The San Francisco Human Services Agency began investigating the women in 2023, after the agency developed suspicions about Pasigan’s eligibility for various public benefits, officials said.

Pasigan did not disclose that Avalos was her registered domestic partner, or that Avalos was a city employee, which would have disqualified them for low-income public benefits, officials said.

Avalos apparently works for the MTA. But that was just the start of the fraud they are accused of engaging in. Most of the money they (allegedly) pilfered from government coffers was based on their care for 17 children who it turns out didn’t exist.

Investigators discovered that the pair were receiving more than $30,000 monthly in child-care subsidies after claiming they were caring for up to 17 children. Months of surveillance showed no evidence of children at their home on 37th Avenue, near Taraval Street, in the Sunset…

“The defendants’ fraudulent actions diverted over $375,000 in taxpayer funds from multiple federal programs, including HUD-assisted housing programs designed to provide safe and affordable housing for low-income families,” said Robert Lawler, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General.

To be clear, they weren’t claiming they had 17 children of their own, which would have been a dead giveaway. They were running some kind of day care on paper. But as mentioned, surveillance showed no kids were being dropped-off or picked-up at their home.

This story makes me wonder how many more fake day cares the government is currently subsidizing. Maybe DOGE can look into HUD payments and find out. In total, the scammers are accused of stealing more than $500,000 in welfare funds.