Rye Brook, New York Best Lawyers in America® recognized Bernard A. Krooks, JD, CPA, LLM, CELA®, AEP® (Distinguished), Amy C. O’Hara, CELA®, Joel Krooks, Esq, and Brian L. Miller, CELA®, for excellence in Elder Law and Trusts & Estates for 2025. Bernard and Amy are partners at the law firm Littman Krooks LLP. A listing…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that PENELOPE PASSERO (“PASSERO”), age 50, of Westwego, Louisiana, pled guilty on August 27, 2024 to Theft of Government Funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.  PASSERO faces up to ten (10) years imprisonment, and/or a fine…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Vermont Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Ella Mae Woods, 76, a former Brattleboro resident who recently has been living in Iowa, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland to twelve months and one day of imprisonment following her May 2024…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana NEW ALBANY—Willie D. Watts, 42, of Clarksville, has been sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to theft of federal benefits from the Section 8 Housing Voucher, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, and Social Security programs. According to court…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE $23 billion remains unrecovered Through several audits, Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General made dozens of recommendations for the Agency to prevent improper payments before they occur as well as to detect and correct existing improper payments. However, to date, many of those recommendations remain unimplemented, leading to continued improper…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Alabama MOBILE, AL – A Mobile woman who lied about her living situation was sentenced today five years of probation for unlawfully receiving Social Security benefits for many years, a felony offense. According to court documents, Cheryl Bradley, 64, accompanied her husband to the Social Security office…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Wednesday sentenced a contractor from Jefferson County, Missouri to five years of probation, 90 days of house arrest and 80 hours of community service for his role in the financial exploitation of an elderly St. Louis…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Wendy Stone, 63, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and making a false statement to obtain social security benefits. The charges carry a maximum…

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida Orlando, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Teresa Eve Hunt (63, Orlando) has pleaded guilty to theft of government property. Hunt faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. As part of her plea, she agreed to forfeit the proceeds of…

Less Staff, Increased Workloads, Decreased Funding Led to Unprecedented Backlog FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE As a backlog of payment actions affecting Social Security beneficiaries continues to mount, so does a rise in the Agency’s improper payments. As of February 2024, SSA’s pending actions backlog reached an all-time high of 5.2 million pending actions, resulting in $1.1…