A Clay Township woman faces a hearing next month on charges she illegally obtained more than $1,400 in public assistance benefits.

The Pennsylvania Inspector General's office on Tuesday charged 22-year-old Cheayne K. Chandler with welfare fraud.

Between April 1 and July 31, according to authorities, she fraudulently collected $1,412 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, formerly known as food stamps.

Authorities said Chandler was not entitled to the assistance because she failed to report income to the state Department of Human Services.

At the time, court documents said, she was employed at a Portersville business.

She is charged with a second-degree misdemeanor count of fraudulently receiving public assistance.

If convicted, the maximum penalty she faces is two years in prison and a fine of $5,000, plus a mandatory disqualification period from the benefits program they defrauded.

Chandler's preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 8 at the office of District Judge William Fullerton in Butler.