![North Dakota Man Accused in Minnesota Public Programs Scam](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2014/03/Cash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
North Dakota Man Accused in Minnesota Public Programs Scam
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ A North Dakota man is accused of scamming Minnesota
public programs out of more than $300,000.
45-year-old Elfonzo Shelby, of Fargo, is charged in Ramsey County with identify theft and theft by swindle.
Authorities say Shelby used both fake and actual identities to scam the
Minnesota Department of Human Services general assistance and food stamp
programs in Hennepin, Renville and Ramsey counties for more than six years.
As part of the scheme, investigators say Shelby sent phony surveys to inmates
at a correctional facility in Mississippi. In exchange for filling them out,
Shelby promised each $45. Then he used the information to apply for government
benefits that he pocketed.
Shelby's public defender, Terrance Hendricks, could not be immediately reached
for comment.
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