Louisiana Woman Sentenced After Admitting to Theft of Social Security and Cares Act Funds in Connection with a Deceased Relative 

Louisiana – A Louisiana woman has been sentenced after admitting to stealing $76,139 in Social Security benefits by failing to report the death of her mother and accessing her bank account from November 2015 to January 2020. The woman also received $1,200 in COVID-19/CARES Act payments, which were paid into her mother’s account.

On January 9, 2023, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that the defendant, Rachel Cooney, of Metairie, Louisiana, was sentenced on January 5, 2023, for Theft of Government Funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

Cooney’s mother was receiving social security benefits before her death, according to court filings. These benefits should have ended when she died. Cooney, on the other hand, continued to get income by accessing her deceased mother’s bank account from November 2015 to January 2020. Cooney was also given $1,200.00 in COVID-19/CARES ACT payments, which were paid into her mother’s account. Cooney admitted to federal investigators that she exploited her deceased mother’s ATM card to pay for her own personal costs despite the fact that she was ineligible for Social Security payments or COVID-19/CARES ACT monies. Cooney failed to notify the Social Security Administration of her mother’s death and received $76,139.00 in benefits to which she was not entitled. Cooney also received $1,200.00 in COVID-19/CARES ACT money that she did not qualify for.

Cooney was sentenced to five years of probation, $76,139.00 in restitution to the Social Security Administration, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier.

The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force on May 17, 2021, to marshal the Department of Justice’s resources in collaboration with agencies across the government to strengthen efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other things, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. Visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus for additional information on the Department’s response to the pandemic.

The United States Attorney’s Office would also like to thank the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General for its help in this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Rachal Cassagne and Jon Maestri are prosecuting this case.

Note: The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the United States Department of Treasury, Inspector General for Tax Administration in investigating this matter.