The Justice Department announced charges Tuesday against 17 alleged fraudsters accused of stealing more than $1.3 million in Social Security benefits, including a Chicago woman convicted of keeping her dead mother’s body in a freezer and now suspected of collecting her retirement benefits.
The charges are the result of a monthlong “surge” by the DOJ’s new National Fraud Enforcement Division targeting crimes against the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) benefit programs, which the Trump administration has long suspected are a hotbed for fraud.
“The Social Security Administration’s benefits programs are meant to safeguard America’s elderly and most vulnerable — not to bankroll fraudsters,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, the DOJ’s fraud division lead.
“Every dollar stolen is a dollar taken from a retiree’s medicine, meals, or housing,” McDonald added. “These cases represent just a fraction of the fraud we are aggressively pursuing every day.
“The egregious facts uncovered in these cases underscore why our mission to combat fraud —large or small — is vital to protecting public trust and ensuring justice.”
Several of the defendants charged by the DOJ are accused of taking advantage of deceased or disabled relatives to bilk taxpayers out of tens of thousands of dollars.
The most notorious suspect is Eva Bratcher, who is accused of stealing $21,402 from the SSA after she concealed her mother’s body in a deep freezer in her garage for two years after death.
“During those two years, Bratcher assumed her mother’s identity, collected her mother’s SSA benefits, and used her mother’s [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)] benefits,” according to the DOJ. “[Bratcher] also allegedly used an alternative Social Security Number to steal additional SNAP benefits to which she was not entitled.”
Bratcher was sentenced in 2023 to 18 months in prison for concealing a death and possessing a fraudulent ID card.
She now faces three new federal charges related to fraud and faces a maximum of 10 years behind bars if convicted.
“President Trump and Vice President Vance have given the federal government an unprecedented mandate — and the tools and resources to back it up — to find fraud wherever it exists and root it out,” said SSA Commisioner Frank Bisignano.
“Social Security, we are putting that mandate into action. Working hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice, we are aggressively pursuing fraud, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and protecting Social Security.”
