On Tuesday, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced 17 defendants were charged with felonies for welfare fraud and grand larceny.
Hoovler said the defendants illegally obtained a total of more than $171,000 in public assistance from the County and the state Department of Labor.
Hoovler said as a result of those charges 152 people have been charged with welfare fraud since he took office in 2014.
Hoovler said his focus is not on putting people in jail, but getting the money paid back.
"If you are going to apply you have to be truthful. If you are going to lie about something that makes you eligible when you are not eligible you are taking the money away from people who really need it," said Hoovler.
Hoovler said Orange County receives a grant from the state to pay an assistant district attorney to help prosecute these types of cases.