State v. Irby
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The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of obtaining public assistance to which he was not entitled through willfully false statements, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below.
At issue on appeal was the correction interpretation of Minn. Stat. 256.98, subd. 1, which prohibits wrongfully obtaining public assistance. Defendant was found guilty of violating the statute. On appeal, Defendant argued that the language of the statute required the State to prove that he intended to defeat the purposes of all of the public assistance programs enumerated within the statute. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the plain language of section 256.98 does not require a defendant to act with an "intent to defeat the purposes of" every listed public assistance program listed in the statute; and (2) there was sufficient evidence to prove that Defendant acted with the intent to defeat the purposes of two of the listed programs.
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