Women Steal Combined $300K From Dead Parents in Social Security Theft Cases

Pamela Anita Thomas, of Lemon Grove, and Darla Ann Ausman, formerly of Henderson, Nevada, both pleaded guilty to stealing Social Security benefits

Two women from California and Nevada have pleaded guilty to stealing a combined total of nearly $300,000 in Social Security benefits intended for their parents, who had died many years ago, San Diego authorities said Friday.

The office of U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy said Pamela Anita Thomas, of Lemon Grove, and Darla Ann Ausman, of Henderson, Nevada, both admitted to similar offenses in unrelated cases, each pleading guilty to one count of theft of public property.

In Thomas’ case, court documents show her father began receiving direct deposits of his Social Security retirement benefits into his bank account in 1998. Thomas father died in November 2001, and investigators with the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General said Thomas made no effort to notify the Social Security Administration of her father’s death.

Documents state Thomas did not cancel the direct deposit of the benefits. Over more than a decade, $170,000 in benefits was deposited into her dead father’s account. Investigators said Thomas then routinely transferred the money to her bank account for her own personal use.

Duffy’s office said Thomas is set to be sentenced on Feb. 27, 2017, in San Diego. She was released on bail pending her sentencing.

She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. As part of her plea agreement, Thomas has agreed to also repay all of the money stolen from the Social Security Administration, Duffy’s office said in a press release.

Ausman’s case is similar.

In 1996, Ausman’s mother began receiving direct deposits into her bank account for her Social Security retirement benefits. Her mother died in May 2007. Ausman also failed to tell the Social Security Administration about her mother’s death. Over the next several years, more than $120,000 in benefits were deposited into Ausman’s mother’s bank account.

Ausman is set to be sentenced on Feb. 17, 2017. She too faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, plus the same restitution and payback fees as Thomas.

Investigators said both Thomas and Ausman admitted to knowing that the retirement benefits for their parents should not have continued to be paid after their deaths.

Duffy said their cases are prime examples of how people can defraud these types of government programs.

“By collecting benefits that did not belong to them, these defendants took money away from those who need it most – elderly retirees, people with severe illnesses and widows and children of deceased wage earners,” she said in a press release.

Robb Stickley, of the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, called Social Security benefits “a lifeline for so many Americans and their families,” and said cases like this will be vigorously prosecuted.

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