Woman gets probation for Social Security scam

She collected checks intended for her long-dead grandmother and turned them over to her father, who also pleaded guilty.

By ERIC STIRGUS

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 22, 2000

TAMPA -- A Largo woman was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to two years of probation and ordered to conduct 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to her role in collecting Social Security checks and other benefits for her grandmother, who died more than 20 years ago.

Linda Price, 48, of 10898 106th Lane, had set up a post office box where she collected checks that were supposed to go to Mattie S. Sanford, who died on March 10, 1979. The checks ended up going to Price's father, Charles L. Sanford, who has also pleaded guilty to his participation in the scheme in which he received about $175,000.

The fraud was uncovered last year when Social Security officials in Pinellas Park tried to reach Mrs. Sanford to update her records, according to an affidavit by Social Security agents. After several failed efforts to contact the woman, agency officials cut off her benefits, hoping that would encourage Mrs. Sanford to notify the agency of her whereabouts, the affidavit said.

After hearing nothing from Mrs. Sanford, Social Security Administration agents in February began an investigation and discovered there was a post office box in Largo addressed to the woman, records show. Agents learned the post office box was set up by the granddaughter. Around the same time agents learned who owned the post office box, they found out Mrs. Sanford had died two decades earlier, according to the affidavit.

The checks, according to agents, were put into a joint bank account in Seminole shared by Price and her father.

In May, agents arrested Price and Charles Sanford, 72, who lives in Seminole. He is the son of Mattie Sanford.

Charles Sanford is a familiar name to Social Security Administration agents. Last year, he was given three years of probation after pleading guilty to defrauding the agency out of $110,000 by applying for benefits twice and changing his name on the second application.

Price pleaded guilty to the charge of misprision, knowing someone has committed a crime and not doing anything about it, in August.

"She admitted that she knew what was going on but she didn't get any money from this," said Price's attorney, Charles Morachnick.

The Social Security Administration paid $17-million in benefits to 2,091 dead people last year, according to computer records compiled by its inspector general, James Huse.

Sanford has been disabled since he was 9 years old and concocted the scheme to help support him and his wife, who is legally blind, Morachnick explained.

Sanford will be sentenced on Jan. 5.

- Information from Times files was used in this report.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright