Q: Attorney Tully, my sister got charged with welfare fraud. Is there a statute look-back period for this kind of offense? She has a hearing coming up next week.
A: Yes there is. Almost all criminal cases have a statute of limitation date. The statute of limitations in a welfare fraud case is 5 years. If the Commonwealth does not file charges within 5 years of the incident, your attorney can file a motion to have the charges thrown out against her. There are some limited exceptions to this 5 year look-back period. You should contact an attorney immediately on this. Bernie