Amsterdam, NY – A 24-year-old woman, Maria Araujo, was arrested on April 29, 2025, after a collaborative investigation involving the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Unit, the Department of Social Services, and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Araujo has been charged with one count of welfare fraud in the third degree, a class D felony, and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a class E felony. According to authorities, she failed to disclose all individuals residing in her household as well as all income earned.
Sheriff Jeffery Smith confirmed that Araujo was processed at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and subsequently arraigned at the City of Amsterdam Court. After her arraignment, she was released on her own recognizance and given a scheduled return date.
