Minnesota woman charged with fraud for collecting more than $360K in dead mom's social security benefits
AUSTIN, Minn. — A 54-year-old woman has been charged with fraud for impersonating her mother and collecting her social security benefits for more than 25 years.
According to charging documents, the woman's mother died in January 1999.
However, according to officials, the Social Security Administration was never notified regarding her passing, so the agency continued to deposit benefits into the mother's bank account.
The woman continued to collect her mother's benefits until July 2024, charging documents say.
The Social Security Administration alleges that the woman even impersonated her deceased mother.
According to charging documents, on June 4, 2024, the woman personally visited a Social Security Administration office in Austin where she posed as her mother in order to obtain a fraudulent social security card in the name of her dead mother.
Officials say the woman returned to the administration office again on June 20, in which the woman tried again to obtain a fraudulent social security card in her dead mother's name, submitting an application using her mother's name, date of birth, social security number and foraged her signature.
Between 1999 to 2024, the Social Security Administration claims the woman obtained more than $360,000 in fraudulent social security benefits that she knew was intended for her mother.
A court date has not been set.
