ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — A Moline woman was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday, Dec. 14 after committing a Social Security fraud scheme that totaled over $36,000 in stolen benefit payments.
Michelle Crowell, 48, had accessed her dead mother's bank account several times over a 4-year time period and had stolen Social Security and Disability payments meant for her mother, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Sara Darrow, at Crowell's sentencing hearing, said her crimes came at a great expense to the public - $36,087 to be exact.
According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security provides benefits to about one-fifth of Americans and is a crucial protection for working men and women, people with disabilities and the elderly.
“When individuals such as the defendant defraud these types of programs, they harm those who are most in need," U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois Gregory Harris said in the news release.
Statutory penalties for theft of public funds, according to the justice department, can include up to 10 years imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
The administration has a zero-tolerance policy regarding fraud and has many measures in place to help identify fraud and suspicious claims, but it also relies on public reporting. You can report suspected fraud, waste and abuse of Social Security and Disability benefits here.
To learn more about the SSA's anti-fraud efforts, visit ssa.gov/antifraudfacts.
