A Minnesota man who took more than $167,000 in state welfare benefits at the same time he had more than $3 million stashed in his personal bank account was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Colin Chisholm, 63, and his 54-year-old wife, Andrea, collected the tens of thousands of dollars in medical and food benefits over a span of seven years, United Press International reported.
Investigators later discovered the couple had more than $3 million in their banking account and resided in a mansion in Deephaven valued at $1.6 million. The pair also owned a luxury yacht worth millions that they doced on Lake Minnetonka — and on at least one occasion, touted their Scottish nobility and their “Lord and Lady Chisholm” titles of nobility, UPI said.
The court overlooked state sentencing guidelines that called for probation and instead sentenced Chisholm to 21 months in prison.
“This is a fitting end to a crime that never should have occurred,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said, UPI reported. “We are pleased with the sentence and believe it is one of the longest ever given in the state of Minnesota for welfare fraud.”
Chisholm’s wife had pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Her sentence was less than Chisholm’s because he was the one who actually signed the documents, Mr. Freeman said, UPI reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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