St. Louis County Woman Sentenced for Helping Her Son Fake a Disability

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri woman to five years of probation and 18 months of house arrest and ordered her to repay $131,155 for helping her son fake a mental disability for more than 13 years as well as defrauding the Social Security Administration to obtain benefits for herself.

Zella Rives, 57, of Edmundson, bolstered her son’s false claims of disability from 2010 to 2013 by concealing his lies and acting as representative payee for him. Zella Rives fraudulently confirmed Gino Rives’ eligibility in 2019, concealing his ownership of multiple houses and vehicles, his ability to earn income and his relationship with his girlfriend, her plea agreement says. 

Zella Rives pleaded guilty in February to five counts of theft of government funds and one count of making a false statement. 

“Zella Rives held a position of trust for 13 years as a representative payee, which she misused in fraudulently obtaining Supplemental Security Income benefits for her son. She concealed that he was not disabled, and falsely reported about his employment and resources so his benefits would continue,” said Elena Torres Burfield, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Midwestern Cooperative Disability Investigations Division. “This sentence demonstrates that her criminal actions are punishable under the law and my office will continue to protect SSA’s disability programs for those who are truly eligible to receive them. I thank the U.S. Secret Service for their work in this investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case.”

In June, Judge Clark sentenced Gino Rives, 36, of Edmundson, to 87 months in prison for the disability fraud case and a separate case involving his financial exploitation of two elderly women. Gino Rives obtained four vehicles and checks totaling more than $855,000 from one woman and used her debit card for personal purchases for himself and his family. He executed a quit claim deed and transferred a house belonging to the other victim into his name before.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.