Former SSA Employee Found Guilty of 23 Counts including Theft of Social Security Funds, Social Security Misuse and Aggravated Identity Theft
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Puerto Rico
On June 24, 2026, after a week-long trial, a federal jury convicted Myrna Faria, a/k/a Myrna Oliveras-Santiago, a former Social Security Administration employee, of embezzling and stealing SSA funds, namely Retirement Insurance Benefits, Survivors Insurance Benefits and Auxiliary Benefit payments, to which she knew she was not entitled.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Faria was employed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) from approximately 1991 through 2019 as a “Social Insurance Specialist” and “Claims Specialist” working in the Workload Support Unit in San Juan, Puerto Rico. From March 2012 through March 2024, Faria embezzled and stole approximately $1,812,455.10 in SSA funds, namely Retirement Insurance Benefits, Survivors Insurance Benefits and Auxiliary Benefit payments, to which she knew she was not entitled.
Faria utilized her position within SSA to submit false claims on behalf of others, using the identity of individuals she believed to be deceased. She then approved those false claims and submitted her own bank and address information to fraudulently receive the corresponding SSA beneficiary proceeds. Faria proceeded to withdraw, transfer, and spend the money from the accounts that fraudulently obtained the SSA funds. Over the span of twelve years, Faria submitted and approved 13 fraudulent claims.
U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico; Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge for the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; Carlos Goris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office; and Blasdimir Rojo, Postal Inspector in Charge, Miami Division made the announcement.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case with assistance from the Puerto Rico Police Department.
Social Security Administration Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa D. Bonano-Rodríguez and Niranjan Emani prosecuted the case.
Myrna Faria is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Gina R. Méndez-Miró on September 29, 2026. She faces a mandatory sentence of two years imprisonment for violating 18 U.S.C. §1028A (aggravated identity theft) which must be served consecutively to any sentence imposed for the violation of 18 U.S.C. §641 (theft of government funds), 18 U.S.C. §1343 (wire fraud), and 18 U.S.C. §1341 (mail fraud).