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In addition to five years' probation, Sylvia Wilkerson, 68, must also make full restitution and has to perform 50 hours of community service. The state had asked that Wilkerson serve six months in jail, but Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mirtha Ospina instead imposed a sentence of noncustodial probation, Grewal said.
Wilkerson collected $272,000 over the course of 12 years after the death of her father in the form of permanent disability and pension payments as well as Social Security. Wilkerson's father died in 2004.
Authorities said Wilkerson began withdrawing funds from an account in her father's name and later changed the address on the account from her father's to her own. She annually filled out recertification forms for the pension and other benefits, identifying herself as the "preparer" on the forms.
“Fraud of this type drains resources that the Social Security program and other public and private retirement and disability funds need to provide for persons who may have no other source of income,” said Grewal. “By investigating and prosecuting offenders like Wilkerson, we send a message that we have zero tolerance for criminals who steal these benefits.”
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