Learae Cummings appears in Outagamie County court, Aug. 13, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Outagamie County courts/Zoom)
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Learae Cummings pleaded not guilty Monday to charges she falsified records to fraudulently obtain more than $58,000 in food stamps and child care over the course of five years.
Cummings, 34, faces three counts of identity theft, plus counts of failure to disclose an event affecting eligibility and misstating facts in a food stamp application.
No trial date was set. She returns to court June 3 for a pre-trial conference.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators suspected falsification of records to obtain child care and FoodShare benefits.
“Calculated overpayments included $20,420.76 in child care benefits from January 2020 through August 2022 and $38,334 in FoodShare benefits from January 2020 through April 2025,” the complaint states.
Cummings allegedly submitted forms with signatures from three different companies to show her hours worked and income, but representatives from all three said the forms were not authorized by them.
Cummings allegedly told state officials she and her husband were separated in an attempt to keep the benefits, but her husband told police there had not been a separation and they always lived together.
Some of the money may have been used to purchases certificates of deposit for the children, according to the husband, and other money used for gambling.
“Player records reviewed by investigators reflected casino expenditures by Cummings of approximately $15,000 in 2019, $15,000 in 2020, $11,000 in 2022, $2,000 in 2023, $12,000 in 2024, and $23,000 year to date in 2025,” the complaint states.
When interviewed by police, Cummings “denied recalling the paperwork and declined further questions until she could speak with an attorney,” the complaint states.
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