A Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her kids in squalor for years faces more charges, officials said Tuesday.
Kelli Bryant, 34, is now charged with three counts of welfare fraud, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced Tuesday. Bryant was charged last month with three counts of first-degree child abuse. If convicted, she faces up to life in prison.
McDonald said that a review of Bryant’s state support payments revealed she allegedly obtained more than $29,000 in aid by fraud.
“The defendant appears to have effectively abandoned her children while collecting their public assistance,” McDonald said in a statement. “This crime is, first and foremost, a theft from Kelli Bryant’s children. These resources were intended to ensure they had the basic necessities denied to them. The children deserved better.”
Bryant’s attorney, Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe, was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.
If convicted of welfare fraud, Bryant faces up to four years in prison for each count and/or a $500 fine.
Authorities allege she lived in a home away from her children and left them alone in a condo surrounded by trash and feces. Bryant was arrested Feb. 14 after her landlord called police for a welfare check because he hadn’t heard from the woman and because she had not paid rent since October.
Bryant moved into the Lydia Lane home where her children were found alone in 2019, according to officials. At some point in 2020 or 2021, she moved out of the home and left three of the children there. The fourth child — a now 9-year-old boy — went to live with his father.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Bryant’s children — a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl — were found living in a “biohazard.” Officials said they survived on weekly drop-offs of prepared food. Some rooms in the house had garbage piled as high as 4 feet, and deputies found mold and human waste throughout the residence.
Pontiac District Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross originally set Bryant’s bond at $250 million, noting concerns of flight and potentially trying to contact her kids.
But last week, 50th District Court Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker reduced that bond to $50,000 and ordered Bryant be confined to her home if she posts it. The judge also ordered a mental health evaluation and for Bryant to follow any treatment plans imposed.
The defendant is scheduled to be back in court on April 15.
@CharlesERamirez
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