Woman pleads guilty in welfare fraud case

WARREN -- A woman convicted for her role in the death of a child in her home has also pleaded guilty to welfare fraud.
Ethel Wilbert-Bethea was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of grand theft, tampering with records and attempted theft.
Prosecutors say she received between $20,000 and $100,000 in state welfare benefits between July 2001 and Aug. 31, 2003, for which she wasn't eligible, and tampered with Department of Human Services records.
Judge John Stuard of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court said that sentence will run concurrent with Wilbert-Bethea's other sentence.
Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court sentenced Wilbert-Bethea to 21 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and four counts of child endangerment.
Prosecutors says she caused the death of 3-year-old Auntavia Diggs.
Wilbert-Bethea was not approved by Trumbull County Children Services as a foster parent, CSB officials said.