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Press Release

Olathe Woman Pleads Guilty To Social Security Benefits Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – An Olathe woman pleaded guilty Friday to fraudulently collecting more than $53,000 in benefits from Social Security, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

April M. Martinez, 37, Olathe, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of Social Security fraud. In her plea, she admitted she first became eligible for Title II Disability Insurance Benefits in May 1998. The Social Security Administration also approved her application for Supplemental Security Income. The terms of the programs required her to report if she returned to work while receiving benefits.

From November 2007 through May 2011, Martinez intentionally failed to disclose to the Social Security Administration that she had returned to work. She worked as a Certified Nurse Aid (CNA) at the Olathe Medical Center during part of that time. As a result, she admits that she fraudulently obtained a total of $53,827 in Social Security disability benefits.

Sentencing will be set at a later time. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Grissom commended the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trey Alford and Trent Krug for their work on the case.

Updated May 1, 2015

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