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Levittown residents Terry Ann Powell-Bajwa, age 45, and Khurram Bajwa, age 40, were arraigned in Nassau County Court on Thursday, April 6.
According to prosecutors, between 2017 and 2021, Powell-Bajway allegedly lied on applications that she submitted to the Nassau County Department of Social Services (NCDSS) and the New York State Health Benefits Exchange (NYSHBE).
Among these, authorities report that she falsely listed herself as a single mother with two dependent children and an annual income of $23,600.
But in reality, the DA said, Powell-Bajwa lived in Levittown with her husband, who earned about $266,000 annually.
The DA claimed that because of these omissions, Powell-Bajwa and her family received $112,112 in SNAP benefits, Medicaid benefits, and other social services to which they were not entitled.
“If you try and cheat the system in Nassau County, you will eventually get caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," NCDSS Commissioner Nancy Nunziata said in a statement.
Powell-Bajwa also allegedly failed to report that she was the President and CEO of Tera Consulting, Inc., a “full-service solutions firm” that Powell-Bajwa and her husband own which has several government contracts, including a 2021 contract with Lockheed Martin worth $2 million.
Bajwa purportedly filed false paperwork claiming the family lived in North Shore so that their child could be enrolled in the North Shore School District when the family permanently resided in Levittown, at least 10 miles away, the DA claimed.
Powell-Bajwa was arraigned on charges including:
- Second-degree grand larceny;
- Second-degree welfare fraud;
- First-degree offering a false instrument for filing, five counts.
If convicted of the top charge, she faces anywhere from five to 15 years in prison.
Bajwa was arraigned on two counts of offering a false instrument for filing. If convicted, he could spend up to 4 years in prison.
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