WASHINGTON (TNND) \u2014 The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced that it had charged 17 individuals accused of stealing over $1.3 million in Social Security benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Social Security Administration\u2019s benefits programs are meant to safeguard America\u2019s elderly and most vulnerable \u2014 not to bankroll fraudsters,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said in a statement.<\/p>\n
One of the people convicted is a woman from Chicago who was convicted of keeping her dead mother\u2019s body in a freezer, according to the New York Post. <\/a>She allegedly collected her dead mother\u2019s retirement benefits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cEvery dollar stolen is a dollar taken from a retiree\u2019s medicine, meals, or housing,\u201d McDonald stated. \u201cThese 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 \u2014large or small \u2014 is vital to protecting public trust and ensuring justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Social Security Administrator commissioner Frank Bisignano said that this was a result of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance\u2019s work to stop fraud in the U.S. government.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSocial Security, we are putting that mandate into action,\u201d he said, according to the Post. \u201cWorking hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice, we are aggressively pursuing fraud, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and protecting Social Security.\u201d<\/p>\n