Theft of Federal Government Funds Results in Federal Prison Sentence for Oakdale Woman

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana:

ALEXANDRIA, La. –  Bobbie J. Blake Hampton, 62, of Oakdale, Louisiana, was sentenced today for theft of government funds, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown.  United States District Judge Dee D. Drell sentenced Hampton to 8 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for theft of government money. Hampton was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $65,259.

Hampton’s brother W.R.C., who was an SSID program participant, died on September 20, 2013. The SSA later determined in 2020 that those SSID funds were still being distributed to a bank account in the name of W.R.C. An investigation by the SSA revealed that following his death, Hampton fraudulently converted all of the funds received from SSA into the bank account of W.R.C. from October 2013 through November 2020 for her own personal use. Hampton used these funds at local businesses in the Alexandria area when she knew that she was not entitled to receive those funds.

In addition, a United States Treasury COVID Economic Impact Relief Payment of $1,200 was deposited into the account of W.R.C. and was also fraudulently converted by Hampton for her own personal use. Hampton pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of government money on February 28, 2023.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney LaDonte A. Murphy.

If you would like to report any type of Social Security Administration fraud, you can do so by accessing their website at: https://oig.ssa.gov/report or call 1-800-269-0271.