No prison in case of $224K Social Security fraud

[TexasTowelie]

DETROIT -- A judge has ordered no prison for a southeastern Michigan woman linked to nearly $224,000 in illegal disability benefits from the federal government.

Prosecutors recommended a year in custody for Phyllis Adkins, but federal Judge Stephen Murphy III put her on probation for three years Friday. Despite many six-figure frauds, people caught stealing from the Social Security system rarely get a prison sentence in eastern Michigan.

For nearly nine years, Adkins collected disability benefits while working under a different Social Security number. Separately, benefits were paid in her daughter's name based on Adkins' disability record.

Adkins must repay about $224,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Particka called it "blatant, intentional" fraud.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article130692319.html

[TheDebbieDee]

1. I'd bet dollars to donuts that the defendant paid Criminal Restitution as a means of

drawing probation instead of a stiff prison sentence.

Also, I'm sure she didn't declare her fraudulent SSA as income, so she's been caught filing fraudulent returns. This lady will have IRS Collections crawling up her a$$ for the rest of her life... Unless the IRS budget gets cut way back again...

Also, I'm always amazed that people like this defendant rip-off SSA, Dept of Agriculture and other federal agencies for hundreds of thousands of dollars but the general public seems obsessed with counting every penny laid out to a poor, urban family of 4...

[TexasTowelie]

2. Your timing is uncanny,

speaking of "stiff" sentences right after I replied to a post concerning Smiling Bob from the Enzyte commercials: