Mother Accused Of Drugging Minor Daughters To Claim Disability Benefits

A woman has been arrested for allegedly drugging her two minor children to claim disability benefits.

The unidentified woman, from Netanya, Israel, allegedly sedated her two daughters, aged 6 and 7, before taking them to a medical evaluation panel and then lied about their condition. She told the committee that the girls have special needs, the Times of Israel reported.

Investigators found that it was a ploy to receive benefits from the country's National Insurance Institute, which provides financial assistance through different programs that focus on children, senior citizens, unemployment and disability. The accused would have received around $15,600 (NIS 50,000) per month as compensation by passing them off as disabled.

The 44-year-old woman has eight children – the youngest was 6 years old and the eldest was 18.

An undercover investigation was opened by the National Insurance Investigations Division after it was suspected that the mother was drugging her children to change their behavior. A special investigation team was formed to handle the case, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The mother allegedly lied to authorities about her six other children as well. She claimed all her children have special needs. However, investigators found they were healthy.

The woman was arrested Sunday on suspicion of fraud, deception and abuse of her minor daughters. Police also seized medical documents from her home.

The suspect's children were placed in the care of welfare officials. Authorities did not reveal any details about the children's father.

In a similar incident that took place in Georgia in 2019, a woman allegedly faked her son's illness so that she could collect disability checks.

Teresa Lynne Roth was arrested for allegedly putting her then-5-year-old son on 28 unnecessary medications. She reportedly forced him to use a feeding tube, confined him to a wheelchair and strapped him to an oxygen tank to receive a monthly disability check from the state.