SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A former Sanford woman was arrested on Thursday after state investigators accused her of stealing over $50,000 in benefits from public programs.
Investigators wrote that the woman — identified as Taiwan Jackson-Hines, 40 — had filed for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and School Readiness between 2021 and 2023 while living in Seminole County.
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During this timeframe, investigators said Jackson-Hines reported that her household consisted only of herself and her three children, and she received thousands’ worth of benefits from these programs as a result.
But in 2023, her request for the School Readiness program was rejected after officials discovered that her spouse, Nelson Hines, was living with her, an affidavit reveals.
Jackson-Hines was thus asked to include her husband on her application, investigators said.
“The Coalition terminated Taiwan Jackson’s benefits due to being ineligible over-income,” the affidavit reads.
Since then, investigators have announced that Nelson Hines had been living with Jackson-Hines since 2019, and his income had been over $130,000 during the period in which Jackson-Hines was applying for benefits.
As a result, investigators claimed that Jackson-Hines had received excessive public assistance benefits in the following amounts:
| Program | Amount |
|---|---|
| Food Stamps | $17,506.00 |
| Medicaid | $8,782.91 |
| School Readiness | $24,475.35 |
| Total | $50,764.26 |
On Thursday, court records show that Nassau County deputies transported Jackson-Hines to the Seminole County jail, where she now faces two counts of grand theft over $20,000, and two counts of obtaining benefits under public assistance programs by fraud.
Jackson-Hines was held on a bond of $35,000, which she has since posted. Her next court date is scheduled for Dec. 16.