(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A San Francisco city worker was caught multiplying like rabbits—at least on paper—after fabricating records for more than a dozen children in a scheme to defraud taxpayers of more than $500,000 in government entitlements.
Daisy Avalos, a staffer in the San Francisco Human Services Agency, and her girlfriend, Maggie Pasigan, allegedly used false identities for 17 children to secure Section 8 housing and childcare benefits totaling $30,000 a month.
The lovebirds were arrested Thursday on charges of grand theft, welfare fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Thursday.
1/ Today, DA @BrookeJenkinsSF announced that Maggie Pasigan & Daisy Avalos, of San Francisco, were charged for defrauding various public benefits providers of over $500,000. Ms. Pasigan & Ms. Avalos are each charged w/ grand theft, welfare fraud, money laundering + conspiracy. pic.twitter.com/ktrzi0Cijf
— SF DISTRICT ATTORNEY (@SFDAOffice) March 13, 2025
“My office will take action to ensure the integrity of our benefits systems and seek to hold those accountable who would defraud the system for their own personal gain,” Jenkins exclaimed in a press statement.
The criminal probe was triggered in 2023 after Avalos failed to disclose both her domestic partnership with Pasigan and her income as a city worker—information that would have immediately disqualified her from receiving government benefits.
The scheme diverted an additional $375,000 in taxpayer funds from several federal programs designed to provide “safe and affordable housing” for low-income families, according to federal investigator Robert Lawler.
The $30,000 monthly payouts came from a childcare subsidy program aimed at promoting early education and childcare.
“Over months of surveillance, there was no evidence of child drop-offs, pick-ups, or other signs of children even though the women claimed to be providing care for as many as 17 children during the same period,” the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said.
The investigation was made possible through a collaboration among the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the San Francisco Human Services Agency, the San Francisco Housing Authority and local law enforcement, including San Francisco’s police and Sheriff’s Office.
The charges emerge as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts to expose government waste and fraud.
Proposals to reform or cut government handouts continue to face fierce opposition from Democrats, who argue that such measures impact low-income families —including accused fraudsters like Avalos and Pasigan.
