FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
August 18, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Bertha Corgiat, 50, of Empire, with theft of Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit payments.

According to the indictment, between April 2001 and April 2009 Corgiat fraudulently obtained more than $58,000 in SSI benefits that she was not entitled to receive because she lived with her husband who collected retirement benefits and owned other resources. Even though Corgiat was ineligible to receive SSI benefits, she submitted false statements to the Social Security Administration concealing the fact that she was living with her husband.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Grant B. Rabenn is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Corgiat faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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