A 37-year-old woman is facing a fraud charge after allegedly failing to report thousands of dollars in income to illegally obtain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to court documents.
Heather Rauschmeier was issued a summons to appear in court on a charge of making false statements, a violation of state public welfare law, after an investigation by the Office of State Inspector General.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by OSIG investigators:
Rauschmeier fraudulently received $1,607.00 in SNAP benefits between Sept. 1, 2024, and Nov. 30, 2024. Investigators allege she failed to report her employment and $8,399.62 in earnings from Circle Company Associates on COMPASS benefit applications dated April 27, 2024, and Oct. 21, 2024.
The discrepancy was first identified on March 4, 2025, through Income Eligibility Verification System exchanges by Arlene Zabala Rivera, an income maintenance caseworker with the Bucks County Department of Human Services. The case was referred to the OSIG for further investigation on Aug. 11, 2025.
Circle Company Associates Human Resource Director Elizabeth Zabbo confirmed during a May 7, 2026, phone interview with Jones that Rauschmeier has been employed with the company as a remote customer service representative since April 9, 2024, earning $17.63 per hour. Payroll records provided by Zabbo verified Rauschmeier’s income during the period in question.
In subsequent interviews with investigators, DHS caseworkers from Bucks and Lancaster counties confirmed Rauschmeier submitted e-signatures acknowledging her responsibility to report all household income. Zabala Rivera verified that Rauschmeier would have been ineligible for the $1,607 in benefits had the income been properly disclosed.
A preliminary hearing for Rauschmeier is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2026. Court records do not list an attorney of record for Rauschmeier.
It was the second case filed by Office of State Inspector General investigators last week against a woman from Levittown.
