Woman pleads guilty to theft after collecting dead mother’s retirement benefits for years

A Sacramento woman pleaded guilty to theft of government property on Tuesday after collecting her deceased mother’s Social Security benefits for 14 years after her death.

Vincene R. Jones, 69, continued to collect her mother’s retirement benefits through a joint bank account after her death in 1999, according to a news release issued by the District Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Jones’ mother began collecting Social Security benefits in 1988. After her mother’s death, Jones did not file a report to Social Security Administration and knowingly received approximately $114,796 in Social Security benefits from September 1999 to January 2014, according to the release.

Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8 and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.