Social Security and Disability Law
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday ordered a woman who stole government benefits intended for her dead grandmother to repay the money and sentenced her to five years of probation and 40 hours of community service. Shamari Jackson, 33, of St. Louis, used…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Mississippi Jackson, Miss. – A Vicksburg man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to 32 years in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and health care fraud; money laundering; aggravated identity theft; mail fraud; and contempt of court. He was also ordered to pay…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts BOSTON – A New Bedford man was sentenced today for stealing over $450,000 in disability benefits issued by the United States Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) intended for a 20-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps who was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Joseph Smith, 71, was…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of West Virginia MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Joseph Beach, age 55, of Inwood, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining a quarter of a million dollars from his father. Beach pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in March 2024. According to…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Kevin Paul McMains, 44, of Milton, Florida, has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to one count of theft of government money and two counts of making false statements to a federal agency. The sentence was announced today by Jason…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida Orlando, Florida – Following a bench trial, United States Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd has found Joshua Joseph Gray (45, New Smyrna Beach) and George Douglas Metz (51, Belleview) guilty of unlawfully video recording and failing to comply with official signs and directives inside multiple Social Security field offices. Gray…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Keith Allen Courtney (53, Gainesville) to 13 months in federal prison for conspiracy. As part of his sentence, the court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $71,208, the proceeds of conspiracy. Courtney pled guilty on April 12, 2024. According…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison for defrauding the Social Security Administration. On June 26, 2024, Mary Elizabeth Workman pled guilty to one count of theft of government funds. “Stealing from the system is stealing from those who truly need…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that PENELOPE PASSERO (“PASSERO”), age 50, of Westwego, Louisiana, was sentenced on December 10, 2024 for Theft of Government Funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. According to court documents, from February 2016 to December 2020, PASSERO knowingly accessed…
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Pennsylvania PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court on December 5, 2024, to 30 months of probation and ordered to pay $95,100 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA) on a charge of theft of government property, United States Attorney Eric G.…
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