Welfare Worker Accused of Taking Checks Is Fired

A county welfare department employee was fired after officials accused her of stealing about $18,000 by cheating clients out of their first checks, officials said Friday.

Martina Rebollar, who worked at the Department of Social Services district office in Oceanside, was fired Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Boles said.

Rebollar, an Escondido resident who worked for the county for only 11 months before her firing, has not been charged, but the case remains under investigation, Boles said. The prosecutor said investigators believe that Rebollar stole the money between April and September.

Typically, Rebollar would authorize welfare assistance for applicants. However, she would tell applicants that they would receive their first check a few weeks to a month after their eligibility really began.

According to Boles, Rebollar would open an applicant’s case, cut the first check, then take the initial payment and keep the money. The scheme was discovered through a routine computer audit, Boles said.