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Woman schemed payments intended for deceased mother for 25 years

 

An Austin woman has entered a plea of guilty to theft of government funds after over two decades of Social Security fraud.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick announced that Mavious Redmond had conducted the fraud for 25 years resulting in $360,000 in payments that were intended for her mother.

The fraud lasted from January 1999 to June of 2024.

Redmond pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel on April 9. A sentencing hearing will take place at a later date.

In the release it was related that according to court documents, Redmond, 54, carried out a scheme to collect her deceased mother’s social security retirement benefits following her mother’s death in January 1999. 

On multiple occasions, Redmond impersonated her deceased mother to keep her fraud scheme going with one example taking place on June 4, 2024, when Redmond personally visited the SSA office, posing as her mother, and submitted a fraudulent SS-5 Application for Social Security Form using her mother’s name, date of birth, social security number, and forging her deceased mother’s signature.  Redmond visited the SSA office again on June 20, 2024, resubmitted her deceased mother’s documentation and the form with the forged signature.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General.