A Democrat member of Uniontown, Pennsylvania’s City Council was arraigned Thursday on charges that he fraudulently obtained nearly $7,000 in taxpayer-funded food and heating assistance while employed and earning more than $166,000 over the same period.
Trace Thomas, 34, faces one count of fraudulently obtaining benefits after state investigators alleged he collected Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds while repeatedly reporting himself as unemployed.
The Pennsylvania State Office of Inspector General alleges Thomas received $5,705 in SNAP benefits and another $1,000 through the heating assistance program after he was hired by Senior Life, a Pittsburgh-based health care company, in September 2023.
According to the criminal complaint, obtained by The Herald Standard, Thomas continued to report himself as unemployed on eight applications for the funds as late as August 2025.
Thomas also completed phone interviews with the county assistance office for SNAP benefits, during which he did not disclose employment or income.
More than a year after receiving his first paycheck from Senior Life, Thomas sent a letter to the county assistance office in September 2024 stating that he was unemployed and looking for a job.
