A Spencer woman was charged Monday after federal authorities said she stole more than $41,000 in Social Security benefits over a 15-year timespan.
Gina Llerena-Donohue, 62, was charged with one count of bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement. She’ll make an appearance in Worcester federal court at a later date.
Llerena-Donohue fraudulently obtained almost $42,000 in Social Security benefits from February 2006 through May 2021, according to the charging documents.
Federal prosecutors say Llerena-Donohue had the power of attorney for a Social Security beneficiary who died in January 2006. But she never reported the person’s death to either the Social Security Administration or the bank where the benefits were deposited.
Power of attorney is a legal document that allows people to act on behalf of another person in legal, financial or health-related matters, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Llerena-Donohue got the person’s Social Security benefits through several counter cash withdrawals, federal prosecutors said. She also submitted four false affidavits to the bank in 2018 and 2019 claiming the power of attorney was still in effect because it wasn’t terminated by the death beneficiary.
Llerena-Donohue’s charge provides a sentence of up to 30 years in prison with five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, according to federal prosecutors.
