Linda Taylor

Linda Taylor (born Martha Louise White; January 1926 – April 18, 2002) was an American woman who committed extensive welfare fraud and, after the publication of an article in the Chicago Tribune in fall 1974, became identified as the "welfare queen". Accounts of Taylor's activities were used by then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, for his 1976 presidential campaign onwards, to illustrate his criticisms of social programs in the United States. Her criminal activities are believed to have extended beyond welfare fraud and may have included assault, theft, insurance fraud, bigamy, kidnapping, and possibly even murder.

Identity and early life Taylor was born to Lydia Mooney White in Golddust, Tennessee, a few months after White moved there from Summit, Alabama. Although no birth certificate was issued, biographer Josh Levin estimates, based on other details provided by Taylor's relatives, that the birth probably occurred in January 1926. At birth she was named Martha Louise White. In October 1926, Lydia White married Joseph Jackson Miller, and subsequent United States Census records listed "Martha Louise Miller" as their daughter. The identity of Taylor's biological father is uncertain. In census records and court testimony, her relatives gave varying information about her parentage but always identified her as "white". Rumors in the family indicated that her father was black but Lydia White could have been convicted of a felony under Alabama's law against interracial relationships if she admitted this.

As of 1940, Taylor was 13 years old and had attended school only through the second grade. Around 1960, she moved to Chicago with three of her children. Chicago Detectives Jack Sherwin and Jerry Kush, who took the report, recognized her from a similar, previous report and she came under suspicion for false reporting, for which she was later charged. Additionally, Taylor was suspected of welfare fraud after Sherwin found welfare payment checks made out to multiple different names in her apartment.

Upon investigating her, Sherwin discovered Taylor was wanted on welfare fraud charges in Michigan. She was arrested at the end of August 1974 for possible extradition to Michigan. Released on bond, Taylor fled the state and was a fugitive until October 9, 1974, when she was caught in Tucson, Arizona. Taylor was sentenced to imprisonment for two to six years on the welfare fraud charges, and a year on the perjury charges, to be served consecutively. She began her sentence at Dwight Correctional Center on February 16, 1978. Her fraudulent claims have since been estimated at $40,000——over a number of years; however, she was only charged with stealing about $8,000 because of difficulties with assembling verifiable evidence.

Other suspected crimes Taylor was believed to be a kidnapper, and possibly a murderer, but these offenses were never properly substantiated through an investigation. Three people she knew well in the 1970s and 1980s died under suspicious circumstances. Taylor's son has said that his mother frequently took other people's children, and law enforcement also suspected her in the case.

Later years and death Taylor was released from prison on parole on April 11, 1980. Her parole was completed on May 26, 1981. Taylor rejoined Sherman Ray, whom she had married shortly before her arrest in 1974. On August 25, 1983, Ray was shot by Willtrue Loyd, in what was later ruled to be an accident. Taylor collected on Ray's life insurance. Loyd and Taylor moved to Florida and subsequently married in March 1986. When Loyd died in 1992, Taylor (under the alias Linda Lynch) was listed as his next of kin but claimed to be his granddaughter rather than his wife. Taylor died of a heart attack on April 18, 2002, at Ingalls Memorial Hospital outside Chicago. Her remains were cremated.