Press Releases
08/03/2023
Hartford Home Day Care Provider Charged with Scamming Over $127,000 from Care4Kids
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Rocky Hill, CT) – A Hartford woman was arrested today and charged with stealing more than $127,000 from Care4Kids, a child care program financed by the Connecticut Department of Social Services.
Xiomy Auqui De La Cruz, age 28, was arrested by Inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney on a warrant and charged with Larceny in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes §53a-122(a)(3).
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Auqui De La Cruz operates a home day care called So Cute Daycare 1 in Hartford and owns the business, Bodeguita de la Gente, with her husband. In January 2023, the Office of Early Childhood received a complaint alleging Auqui De La Cruz opened home day cares using relatives’ names but the relatives were not operating the programs. Additionally, the complaint alleged that Auqui De La Cruz forged the signatures of parents on Care4Kids documents. In turn, Care4Kids referred the matter to the Department of Social Services Investigations Division, which prompted the investigation into Auqui De La Cruz’s personal receipt of Care4Kids benefits.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Auqui De La Cruz received $127,461.73 in benefits from the Care4Kids program that she was not entitled to receive from May 2021 to April 2023 because she intentionally failed to accurately report that her husband resided in the home as he was a legally liable relative (“LLR”). A legally liable relative is someone that is identified in law or regulation as responsible for another individual and refers to a spouse or parent and would be a mandatory inclusion on the case. At the time of Auqui De La Cruz’s Care4Kid’s application, had she included her husband in the application, his income would have been considered and Auqui De La Cruz would have been ineligible for Care4Kids benefits. When Auqui De La Cruz submitted a redetermination form whereas she requested her Care4Kids benefits to continue, she again failed to list her husband on the form. At this time, although Auqui De La Cruz’s husband was not working at the time of the redetermination, the family would again have been ineligible for Care4Kids benefits due to not being in an approved activity, which consists of employment for which the individual receives wages.
Auqui De La Cruz was released on a $60,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court, G.A. No. 14, on August 9, 2023.
The charges are merely accusations and Auqui De La Cruz is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Connecticut Department of Social Services investigative division submitted the arrest warrant applications for Auqui De La Cruz’s arrest. The cases are being prosecuted by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Hatfield of the Statewide Prosecution Bureau.
Since the last quarter of 2022, the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney has signed 64 arrest warrants seeking the arrest of individuals who have allegedly scammed Connecticut public assistance programs and is seeking to recover over $710,324.62 in restitution as alleged in those arrest warrants. So far in 2023, the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney has recovered $116,812.48 through up-front and court-ordered restitution.