Less Staff, Increased Workloads, Decreased Funding Led to Unprecedented Backlog FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE As a backlog of payment actions affecting Social Security beneficiaries continues to mount, so does a rise in the Agency’s improper payments. As of February 2024, SSA’s pending actions backlog reached an all-time high of 5.2 million pending actions, resulting in $1.1…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey NEWARK, N.J. – Three residents of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, were extradited to the United States last week and made their initial appearance in Newark federal court yesterday on charges relating to their participation in a sprawling “grandparent scam” that defrauded elderly Americans out…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Tennessee NASHVILLE – Cathleen Caraballo, 48, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve 37 months in federal prison and to pay $575,855.09 in restitution earlier today, announced Henry C. Leventis, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Caraballo previously pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud,…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey TRENTON, N.J. – A Florida man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $2.4 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) payments, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Mohamed A. Awad, 61, of Ocala,…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Charmaine Miesha Brown, age 45, of Lusby, Maryland, to 30 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release for conspiracies to commit passport fraud and wire fraud, as well as bankruptcy fraud, and making a…

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…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Office of Public Affairs Scammers Phoned American Seniors, Impersonated Attorneys to Steal Cash Two residents of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, were extradited to the United States last week and made their initial appearance in Newark federal court yesterday on charges relating to their participation in a sprawling “grandparent…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey CAMDEN, N.J. – A North Carolina woman admitted conspiring to submit fraudulent applications leading to the issuance of 29 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling more than $3.5 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today. Lisa Smith, 61, of Cornelius, North Carolina, pleaded guilty before…

Tampa, Florida – The Foreign Medical Program (FMP), an initiative by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, provides a lifeline for veterans with service-connected disabilities living or traveling abroad. Tampa-based veteran’s disability law firm David W. Magann, P.A., known for its commitment to serving veterans, highlights the importance of this new benefit and its role…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Canadian man was arrested in Los Angeles on July 8 after a federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging him with stealing over $420,000 of his mother’s Social Security benefits in a nearly 30-year complex fraud scheme. According to court documents,…