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A Birmingham woman was sentenced after pleading guilty to stealing social security benefits awarded to her grandmother—for more than two decades after she died.
Wendi D. Baldwin, 41, was sentenced to six months in prison and also six months of in-home detention, according to a news release from Joyce White Vance, the U.S. Attorney for Alabama’s northern district.
She pled guilty February to one count of theft of government property.
The benefits were deposited into Baldwin and her grandmother’s shared bank account from Jan. 1992 until July 2013, according to the plea agreement.
Her grandmother died in 1991.
The Social Security Administration became aware of the theft when it could not reach Baldwin’s grandmother after several attempts.
She was also ordered to forfeit $30,934 to the government and pay that much to the SSA
According to the release, Baldwin stole more than $155,000 in social security benefits, but the statute of limitations only allowed the government to recover five years’ worth of benefits.
A Birmingham woman was sentenced after pleading guilty to stealing social security benefits awarded to her grandmother—for more than two decades after she died.
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