Plea deal in Cornwall welfare fraud case

(Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

CORNWALL – A Petawawa woman has been ordered to make restitution to Cornwall’s welfare department and do 50 hours of community service under a plea deal.

Court records show 26-year-old Haley Kerr, originally charged with one criminal count of fraud, pleaded guilty to a lesser violation under the Ontario Works Act, part of the Provincial Offences Act.

The records show the criminal charge was withdrawn by the Crown.

The deal means Kerr will make $4,853.32 in restitution to the Ontario Works Resource Center and will perform community service, but will avoid a criminal record.

The deal came after a scheduled one-day trial last week (Aug. 15).

Kerr was charged in July 2016 after the Ontario Works Resource Center found she had not reported a change in her living arrangements over eight months in 2013.

That resulted in an overpayment of the amount the court has ordered her to pay back.