Her mom died in 2016 but she kept collecting her benefits, feds say. Now she must pay
.jpg "A woman stole her mother’s Social Security benefits after her death, feds say.")
A woman stole thousands in Social Security benefits meant for her mother who died in 2016, according to federal prosecutors. Now she must pay the money back.
After her mother’s death in May 2016, the woman started collecting her monthly Social Security Administration Retirement Insurance Benefits until January 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The 66-year-old, of Lynn, never reported her mother’s death to the SSA, which wasn’t aware she died and continued issuing the benefits, prosecutors said. The benefits are meant to replace a portion of a person’s income after they retire or work fewer hours than before.
The woman stole at least $50,210 of her mother’s benefits in total, according to prosecutors, who said she wrote checks to herself from her mother’s bank account, forged her mother’s signature, and used the money for bills and other expenses.
On May 31, the woman pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public funds, prosecutors said, McClatchy News previously reported.
A judge sentenced her to five years of probation on Oct. 12 and ordered her to pay the SSA $50,210 in restitution, the attorney’s office announced in a news release..
A federal public defender representing the woman didn’t offer a comment when contacted by McClatchy News on Oct. 13.
In a sentencing memorandum submitted on the woman’s behalf, public defender Forest O’Neill-Greenberg cited his client’s lack of criminal history and that she agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor instead of the felony — theft of government money — she was initially charged with.
He described her as a “beloved” school bus driver and community member whose “ability to continue her career” would’ve been affected if she were convicted of a felony, according to the sentencing memo.
Lynn is about 10 miles northeast of Boston.
This story was originally published October 13, 2023 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Her mom died in 2016 but she kept collecting her benefits, feds say. Now she must pay."
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