Woman poses as her dead aunt, steals over $1 million in benefits for 25 years, feds say

Julia Marnin
·2 min read
14

A New Jersey woman is accused of stealing over $1 million in benefits meant for her aunt, who died in 1998, federal prosecutors said.

The 77-year-old, of South Orange, collected her aunt’s Social Security Administration retirement benefits and surviving spouse benefits issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for 25 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

Information regarding her legal representation wasn’t available Dec. 27.

In October 2022, an SSA employee called a number listed for the woman’s aunt, who “would have been over 100 years old,” to see whether she was alive, according to a criminal complaint.

The woman is accused of answering the phone, posing as her aunt, and providing the SSA employee with her aunt’s “approximate birthdate,” the complaint says.

From 1998 to 2023, she stole $1,011,004.85 in benefits, according to the complaint.

The woman was arrested on Dec. 21 on a charge of wire fraud in connection with the theft, the attorney’s office announced in a news release that day.

Both the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management continued to deposit benefits in the woman’s aunt’s bank account until her death was discovered, prosecutors said.

The complaint accuses the woman of withdrawing about $70,000 worth of stolen benefits in cash with a debit card.

She’s also accused of forging $130,000 worth of checks, which were signed with her aunt’s name, that were made payable to her own company, the complaint says. The company‘s name wasn’t specified.

According to the complaint, she used thousands of additional benefits for gas and groceries.

“(She) unlawfully disbursed virtually all of those embezzled funds,” prosecutors said in the release.

If convicted on one count of wire fraud, the woman could face up to 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine or a fine that’s “twice the pecuniary gain or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greatest,” according to the release.

South Orange is about 20 miles west of New York City.

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