Greenwich Woman Avoids Jail In Food Stamp Fraud

A Greenwich woman avoided jail Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to stealing more than $25,000 in food stamps, after state investigators determined she was living with the father of her five children and ineligible for the state program. Byram resident Valarie Morales, 38, of St. Roch Avenue, pleaded guilty to a first-degree larceny charge at state Superior Court in Stamford and was given a five-year suspended sentence, five years of probation by Judge Richard Comerford and agreed to pay the state back $12,500. According to her four-page arrest affidavit, the state received a tip in May 2013 that Morales was residing with the father of her five children while he was employed and helping support the family.