Minnesota woman who lied to support family gets full pardon
KWAT
January 26, 2021
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Board of Pardons has granted its first full pardon in more than three decades, to a woman who used a fake name and false documents to get a job in order to cover food and housing costs for her family.
Maria Elizondo was convicted in 2012 of wrongfully obtaining assistance and identify theft. She was sentenced to serve 10 years of probation and ordered to pay back $24,758 to the state.
The mother of seven took a job at a turkey farm in Ada, Minnesota, in 2006 under the pseudonym Natalia Rubio.
Her son, Jorge Elizondo, says his mother never meant to be malicious but “did what she had to do” to feed her family.
