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If there is a line between accidental and intentional, the subject of today’s “Fraud of the Day” definitely crossed it. The SunSentinel reports that a Florida woman was recently sentenced to serve one year of house arrest with electronic monitoring, five years of probation, 1,000 hours of community service and pay back more than $239,000 because she fraudulently collected her deceased mother’s Social Security benefits for more than 30 years.
According to the story, the woman pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of government funds. She acknowledged her failure to inform the government that her mother had died in 1984, continuing to allow monthly automatic deposits into a joint bank account. (That adds up to the deliberate collection of Social Security benefit checks more than 360 times over three decades, a full circle of fraud.)
While in the courtroom, the woman stated that she was deeply remorseful for her actions, but believed she initially committed the crime because she was depressed after her mother’s death. She stated that she was having a hard time with her finances while starting up a business that offered wallpaper hanging, carpentry and tile services targeted toward wealthy clients in South Florida. (She did have some standards, claiming she never considered ripping off people she knew even though she had their security system codes. Just all the anonymous taxpayers.)
The story states that part of the reason why this woman will serve no jail time is because of her volunteer work within the community. The judge determined that she could be more of an asset to the community with house arrest and full restitution. (It’s hard to pay restitution if you don’t have a source of income.) Let’s hope that this woman can put her crimes behind her and walk a straight and narrow line in the future.
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