Westland woman pleads to criminal enterprise charge for defrauding VA and MI Dept. of Treasury
LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Sophia Quill, 63, of Westland, pled no contest to defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Michigan Department of Treasury out of nearly half a million dollars, Dana Nessel, Attorney General announced Friday.
Quill pled no contest to one count of conducting a criminal enterprise and eight counts of false pretenses, Nessel said. She agreed to a restitution order of $470,000 to the two agencies.
A sentencing agreement requires Quill to serve between 78 months and 20 years, officials said.
Between 2013 and 2019, Quill and co-defendant Melissa Flores defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $430,000 and the Michigan Department of Treasury of more than $40,000, Nessel said.
Quill and Flores created aliases and fraudulent documents to make it look like they were heirs to various deceased benefit-earning U.S. veterans and heirs entitled to unclaimed property from the Michigan Department of Treasury, according to the attorney general's office.
According to Nessel, codefendant, Steven Decker, Quill's adult son, received proceeds from the scheme.
Both Flores and Decker have been convicted and sentenced for their roles and ordered to pay $110,000 and $28,506 in restitution, respectively.
"The codefendants in this case stole hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to fund hard-earned benefits for servicemembers and their rightful heirs," Nessel said. "My department worked diligently to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs will receive restitution in the resolution of this case and that Quill, the mastermind, receive a significant sentence. I am thankful for the investigative efforts of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General."
Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 30.