A 77-year-old American woman has been accused of impersonating her late aunt and claiming her 25-year pension.
Janis Miller was arrested after authorities discovered she stole more than $1 million from her family member's federal benefits.
New Jersey federal prosecutor Philip R. Sellinger said Janis' aunt died in 1998 but managed to maintain her claim to the charges Pension your family member.
“Without knowledge of his death, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) paid $1.01 million Retirement benefits into the bank account of Miller’s late aunt,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Janis Miller was arrested for claiming her late aunt's pension for 25 years. Photo: Freepik
How did they discover your fraud?
This woman reportedly disbursed the funds illegally using debit cards, cash withdrawals, and counterfeit checks addressed to one of her companies.
However, authorities discovered her in 2022 after she posed as her aunt in a phone conversation and made a mistake in stating her date of birth.
Officials became suspicious and stopped payments after 25 years. So Janis was captured and Accused of fraud electronically, a crime for which she faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
In addition, she would have to pay a fine of $250,000 or twice the profit she made from her crime over all the years.
Janis Miller was released on bail by a judge after posting $100,000 but is awaiting trial.
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