BOISE, Idaho — A western Idaho woman has pleaded guilty to illegally collecting nearly $139,000 in Social Security benefits in the nine years after her grandmother’s death.
U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson says 43-year-old Melinda Sue Priddy of New Meadows pleaded guilty to theft on Wednesday. Sentencing is set for Oct. 20 before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise.
Prosecutors say Priddy’s grandmother’s benefits were deposited monthly into a bank account held jointly with Priddy. Priddy’s grandmother died in May 2004, but no one notified the Social Security Administration.
In the plea agreement, Priddy acknowledges withdrawing nearly $139,000 from that account from July 2004 through May 2013 for her own personal use.
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