His mom died in 2006, but he kept collecting her Social Security benefits, feds say
An Alabama man illegally collected his mother’s Social Security benefits for the 14 years after her death, federal prosecutors say.
The man pleaded guilty on July 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama to stealing $71,865.13 in Social Security benefits, according to court documents.
The man did not report his mother’s death in April 2006 to the Social Security Administration and instead continued to collect her benefits from May 2006 until December 2020, prosecutors said.
The defendant’s attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
The benefits were directly deposited into a joint bank account shared between the man and his mother, according to court.
In the years since his mother’s death, the man changed her address several times, prosecutors said. Further investigation revealed that each address actually belonged to the man, and the benefits were terminated.
The man is prepared to pay full restitution and faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in October, the documents say.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 5:10 PM with the headline "His mom died in 2006, but he kept collecting her Social Security benefits, feds say."
