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Pontiac Mother Pleads No Contest to Welfare Fraud as Abuse Case Proceeds

Prosecutors say the fraud plea does not change the separate child abuse case set for a January hearing.

Overview

  • Kelli Bryant, 34, entered the plea in Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court, where Judge Mary Ellen Brennan accepted a deal for probation and restitution.
  • Sentencing on the welfare fraud counts is scheduled for Jan. 28, the same day a pretrial is set on three first-degree child abuse charges.
  • The fraud case stems from a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services investigation into nearly $30,000 in improper benefits.
  • Prosecutor Karen McDonald said resolving the fraud counts will not affect the ongoing child abuse prosecution.
  • Deputies discovered the children, ages 12, 13 and 15, living in squalor in a Pontiac apartment after a landlord requested a welfare check.