CINCINNATI — A 76-year-old woman was sentenced Thursday to five years probation, including one year of home detention, after it was discovered she'd illegally cashed in on $461,780 worth of checks issued to her dead mother.
Irene Ferrin will also have to repay the full amount she took over the 48 years she cashed the checks for her mother, who died in 1973.
According to court documents, Ferrin's mother received widow's benefits from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs when she died in January of 1973. Ferrin never reported her mother's death and instead forged her mother's signature on the checks, cashing them illegally for decades.
Ferrin also filed fraudulent paperwork with the VA from 1982 through 2017 to guarantee checks continued to be sent her way, according to a press release from U.S. States Attorney Kenneth Parker.
“Fraudulently obtaining benefits from the VA diverts valuable resources intended for deserving veterans and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Billingsley with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office, in a press release. “The VA OIG appreciates the support of the US Attorney’s Office for their efforts to achieve justice in this case.”
Ferrin pleaded guilty in August to one count of theft of public money.
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