A Hanahan, South Carolina, woman was sentenced to 28 months in prison for defrauding the government of hundreds of thousands of dollars in Social Security and Medicare benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
According to U.S. Attorney Sellinger, Martha Aguilar, 60, formerly of Middletown, New Jersey, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging her with Social Security Fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From November 2004 to September 2016, Aguilar collected $136,879 in Social Security benefits and $644,605 in Medicare benefits that she was not entitled to receive.
Aguilar indicated on forms to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that she was completely disabled and unable to work but continued working as a paralegal.
Aguilar also fraudulently applied for and received temporary disability from the state of New Jersey totaling $13,622 and unemployment benefits from the state of New Jersey totaling $103,738, which she concealed from the SSA.
In all, Aguilar fraudulently failed to report to SSA $488,870 in benefits and income.
In addition to the prison term, Aguilar was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $781,484.