A Lawrence woman who gave false information about her income and her family when applying for welfare has been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay back more than $79,000 in benefits.

Carla Ann Rayton, 40, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Crow after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of theft of government property.

“Recipients who misrepresent their income and their eligibility for assistance deprive qualified families from being able to receive assistance,” U.S. Atty. Eric Melgren said.

Rayton admitted in a plea that she gave false information when applying for Medicaid, food stamps and the Section 8 public-housing program. She failed to report to the local housing authority that William Bernard Thomas had been living with her periodically since 1993 and had been employed, and failed to report their son, Anthony Wayne Thomas, had been living with her since July 1999. Both men were ineligible to receive public-housing benefits and couldn’t be added to Rayton’s lease because of their criminal history, according to Melgren’s office.