Former SSA Employee Sentenced for Stealing $325,000 from Deceased Social Security Recipients' Accounts
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - A former employee of a Social Security Administration office in Birmingham was sentenced Wednesday to 70 months in prison for taking more than $325,000 from the bank accounts of deceased recipients of SSA benefits.
In January 2012, Manuel Chaney III, also known as “Trey,” pleaded guilty to one count of financial access-device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft to get account after being indicted in November 2011.
Chaney, 29, also must pay restitution of $41,107, divided among five banks, and must forfeit another $175,559, which represents some of the proceeds of his access-device fraud.
Chaney appeared Wednesday afternoon for a sentencing hearing before Judge C. Lynwood Smith at the U.S. Courthouse in Huntsville.
“We just hate that he has to serve 70 months,” said Emory Anthony, who represented Chaney. “We were hoping for something less than that. He admitted that he made a mistake and that he was wrong.”
According to court documents, Chaney used his access to records to identify recipients of Social Security benefits who had died recently. He narrowed his search to those who received benefits by direct deposit at Wachovia/Wells Fargo Bank.
In more than 150 transactions conducted between January 2010 and November 2010, “he used internet-based payment systems to electronically steal funds” to pay his own debts. He transferred money from at least 50 accounts, court records show.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Atwood and Davis Barlow prosecuted the case.
In a sentencing memorandum filed April 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended 46 months for access-device fraud and 24 months for aggravated identity theft, which carries a two-year mandatory sentence. Smith gave Chaney the 70-month sentence they requested in the memo.
Chaney used the money to furnish his new home, make payments on his vehicles and pay other bills.
“Although he did not previously have a criminal history, Chaney’s repeated criminal conduct over ten months’ time revealed his willingness to commit crimes after thorough deliberation and many opportunities to turn back,” the memorandum says.
The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Click here for the full article.
In January 2012, Manuel Chaney III, also known as “Trey,” pleaded guilty to one count of financial access-device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft to get account after being indicted in November 2011.
Chaney, 29, also must pay restitution of $41,107, divided among five banks, and must forfeit another $175,559, which represents some of the proceeds of his access-device fraud.
Chaney appeared Wednesday afternoon for a sentencing hearing before Judge C. Lynwood Smith at the U.S. Courthouse in Huntsville.
“We just hate that he has to serve 70 months,” said Emory Anthony, who represented Chaney. “We were hoping for something less than that. He admitted that he made a mistake and that he was wrong.”
According to court documents, Chaney used his access to records to identify recipients of Social Security benefits who had died recently. He narrowed his search to those who received benefits by direct deposit at Wachovia/Wells Fargo Bank.
In more than 150 transactions conducted between January 2010 and November 2010, “he used internet-based payment systems to electronically steal funds” to pay his own debts. He transferred money from at least 50 accounts, court records show.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Atwood and Davis Barlow prosecuted the case.
In a sentencing memorandum filed April 8, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended 46 months for access-device fraud and 24 months for aggravated identity theft, which carries a two-year mandatory sentence. Smith gave Chaney the 70-month sentence they requested in the memo.
Chaney used the money to furnish his new home, make payments on his vehicles and pay other bills.
“Although he did not previously have a criminal history, Chaney’s repeated criminal conduct over ten months’ time revealed his willingness to commit crimes after thorough deliberation and many opportunities to turn back,” the memorandum says.
The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.