MN welfare scammers appear in court

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota couple accused of collecting welfare while living on a yacht now claim they have no money.

Sixty-two-year-old Colin Chisholm III and his 54-year-old wife, Andrea, made their first appearance in Hennepin County Thursday.

Prosecutors sought to increase bail for the couple to $300,000 each. But a defense attorney says neither Chisholm will be able to afford bail and will remain in jail.

The Star Tribune reports the couple agreed to waive extradition if they leave Minnesota and to turn over their passports.

The Chisholms were charged in March with making $167,420 in fraudulent medical and food-stamp claims in Florida and Minnesota. The couple was deported from the Bahamas on March 31 and arrested when they landed near Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Another bail hearing will be held Friday.