Jeffrey George Kovarik, 29, Little Falls, was convicted in Morrison County District Court Feb. 22, of a felony for wrongfully obtaining assistance.
Kovarik failed to disclose he was applying for and later received benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs when he applied for and received public assistance from Morrison County over a number of years, beginning in 2012.
Kovarik received more than $23,000 in funds from May 2012 to March 2016. He wouldn’t have been eligible for had the county known he was receiving income from the VA.
In April 2016, investigators interviewed Kovarik about the case and Kovarik told them someone had told him he didn’t have to disclose he was receiving VA benefits.
He said he had signed the forms and that he knew what he did was wrong and that he wanted to repay the overpayment he received.
Kovarik was sentenced to 10 years of supervised probation and was fined $23,544, which include $23,359 in restitution.