A Hastings woman has been charged with felony theft after prosecutors alleged she received more than $35,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by providing inaccurate information about who lived in her household.
Angela Marie Judge is charged in Dakota County District Court with one count of theft by wrongfully obtaining assistance through a false statement, concealment or impersonation. According to the criminal complaint, Judge received $35,151 in SNAP benefits for which prosecutors allege she was not eligible between July 2022 and December 2025.
The case centers on allegations that Judge did not include the father of her child as a member of her household when applying for and continuing to receive assistance. Prosecutors allege the man lived with Judge at her Hastings residence and was employed by a local business during the period covered by the investigation.
According to court documents, Judge submitted her initial SNAP application in July 2022 without identifying the man as a household member. The complaint alleges five payments issued after that application resulted in $3,571 in overpayments.
Prosecutors claim Judge continued to provide inaccurate household information while completing SNAP forms during the following three years. On several reports submitted between 2023 and 2025, Judge allegedly indicated that no one had moved into or out of the household.
The complaint provides a breakdown of the benefits prosecutors believe were overpaid following each report. It alleges Judge received $5,254 in overpayments following a January 2023 report and another $4,531 following a household update submitted in June 2023.
Additional benefits included $4,114 that prosecutors linked to a December 2023 report and $6,246 following a June 2024 update. The complaint alleges another $4,830 was overpaid after a January 2025 report, followed by $6,605 connected to an update submitted in June 2025.
Combined with the $3,571 tied to the initial application, the alleged overpayments total $35,151. SNAP payments to Judge ended in 2025, according to the complaint.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers interviewed Judge about her living arrangement with the father of her child. Investigators allege Judge said the two moved to Hastings together in 2022 and that he lived and slept at the Hastings household for the “majority” of each year from 2022 through 2025.
Court documents state that Judge told investigators the man occasionally traveled outside Minnesota. However, the complaint alleges those trips were not long enough for him to lose his employment with the local business.
Based on those statements and the household information submitted with the SNAP paperwork, prosecutors allege Judge concealed the man’s residency while receiving public assistance benefits.
Judge is charged under Minnesota Statute 256.98, which addresses obtaining assistance through false statements, concealment, impersonation or other fraudulent means. Because the value of the assistance allegedly obtained exceeds $35,000, the felony charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both.
The potential punishment represents the maximum allowed under the statute and does not indicate what sentence Judge would receive if convicted. Any sentence would be determined through the court process.
The allegations described in the criminal complaint are accusations and have not been proven in court. Judge is presumed innocent unless and until she is proven guilty.