Uniontown City Council member Trace Thomas is accused of collecting $6,705 in food and heating aid after telling the state he had no income, during a stretch when investigators say a local care provider paid him $166,637.61.
Those wage and benefit figures come from investigators, PennLive reported. The Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General and the Fayette County District Attorney's Office have charged the 34-year-old with a third-degree felony for allegedly making false statements to obtain public assistance, CBS Pittsburgh reported. The announcement is a charging decision, not a finding that he committed the offense.
Eight forms, one employer
Investigators say the public assistance broke down as $5,705 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from Feb. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025, and $1,000 in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program benefits from Nov. 1, 2024, through April 4, 2025. They also say he reported having no income to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
The criminal complaint, as described by the Herald-Standard, says he was paid more than $166,000 in wages while reporting himself as unemployed on eight applications for funds, including applications as late as August 2025. That is not a missed checkbox on a single form. It is the same claim, repeated, while the pay kept arriving.
A council seat and a Senior LIFE paycheck
Thomas took office in January 2024 and oversees the city's Streets and Improvements department, according to the city website, PennLive reported. The wages in the investigation are attributed to Senior LIFE, a care provider for older adults in Fayette County, not to his council role.
Investigators date those gross wages from Nov. 9, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2025, CBS Pittsburgh reported. The pay started before he was sworn in. The SNAP period investigators describe runs through nearly his entire time on council, up to the end of September 2025.
How the charging offices put it
Michelle A. Henry said Thomas is charged with knowingly misleading the commonwealth repeatedly to collect benefits intended for Pennsylvanians in need, and cast the case as part of a commitment to rooting out public-benefits fraud, CBS Pittsburgh reported. Michael Aubele said Thomas abused public assistance programs. Officials said the investigation is ongoing.
Bond posted, hearing in December
Thomas was arraigned Thursday morning before Judge Jason Cox on one count of fraudulently obtaining benefits, the Herald-Standard reported. He was released after posting a $20,000 self-surety bond, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10, WPXI reported.
Until that hearing, the public record is a felony allegation: eight applications for public assistance on one side, a Senior LIFE wage total of $166,637.61 on the other, and $6,705 in benefits in between.
