Crime & Safety

Oak Lawn Woman Accused of Social Security Fraud

63-year-old woman accused of $360,000 in fraud, faces prison and $250,000.

An Oak Lawn woman is among 10 persons accused of Social Security benefits fraud.

Betsy Minor, 63, of Oak Lawn, is suspected of obtaining $369,188 in illegal benefits. Altogether, the defendants are accused of stealing $1.27 million from the federal government.

Though her mother died in 1993, Minor was a co-signatory on a bank account where her mother’s Social Security payments, were deposited and she continued to collect them for 10 years, according to her indictment.

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Six of the defendants allegedly engaged in the fraud by using false identities claiming to be disabled or otherwise unemployable, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. These individuals either applied for Social Security benefits under multiple names or worked under one name and applied for benefits using another name, according to the charges.

Other defendants allegedly continued to receive benefits from the account of a beneficiary who they knew was deceased and no longer entitled to receive payments.

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Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and mandatory restitution.


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