LIMA — A man who illegally received $15,818 in food stamps told a judge Friday he planned to use more taxpayer money from his monthly disability check to pay restitution.
Allen County Judge David Cheney was left shaking his head after the statement. Jeremy Sharp said he had no job and relied on the disability check for income.
“What are you going to do to pay it back, or are you going to say, ‘OK taxpayers, this is your problem,’” Cheney said.
Sharp responded, “I guess I will pay it back out of my check the first of the month.”
Cheney sentenced the 29-year-old Sharp to 90 days in jail with credit for 10 days served. He also was ordered to repay the money he stole to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and serve five years probation.
A jury convicted Sharp of grand theft, a fourth-degree felony. Cheney did not have the authority to stop Sharp’s benefits from Social Security disability.
Sharp still placed blame elsewhere for the crime, saying he made a mistake filling out the application for benefits.
Sharp did not report income in his household from his girlfriend, who was self-employed. The theft took place from September 2011 through August 2014, officials said.
All income in a household must be reported when a person is receiving some type of public assistance.
Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Ken Sturgill said the crime was committed over a lengthy period of time, and Sharp had to continue to lie to get the benefits.
“He lied over and over again,” Sturgill said.
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