Sec. 4. (a) This section does not apply to an attorney who is admitted to practice law in Indiana.
(b) A person who receives any item of value from an applicant or a recipient in connection with assisting that applicant or recipient in obtaining township assistance commits township assistance profiteering, a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) A person who unfairly profits from the:
(1) sale, lease, or rental of goods or shelter; or
(2) provision of services;
to a township assistance recipient commits township assistance fraud, a Level 6 felony. For purposes of this subsection, a person unfairly profits if the person receives payment from the township trustee for goods or services that the person does not provide or the person charges the township trustee more for the goods or services than the person would charge members of the public.
(d) In addition to any other penalty imposed for a conviction under subsection (c), a person who is convicted of township assistance fraud is ineligible to participate in the township assistance program for thirty (30) years after the date of the conviction.
As added by P.L.51-1996, SEC.14. Amended by P.L.73-2005, SEC.10; P.L.158-2013, SEC.180.