Aidan Joly
July 11, 2025
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A former Erie County social services employee was given three years of conditional discharge for fraudulently obtaining HEAP emergency benefits between 2022 and 2024, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Denise Nelson, 57, used the accounts of five people to obtain Home Energy Assistance Program benefits to pay for her own overdue utility bills between May 2022 and February 2024. She did it while an employee of the Erie County Department of Social Service’s HEAP office.
She was fired after the crime was uncovered during an audit. She paid a full restitution of $4,917 to the utility providers and the Erie County Department of Social Services.
She pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted grand larceny in April.
“Public employees have a responsibility to uphold the trust placed in them by the people they serve,” New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang said in a news release. ““By diverting resources meant for vulnerable New Yorkers, Ms. Nelson betrayed that trust and compromised a program designed to help those most in need.”
