October 23, 2009

WILMINGTON WOMAN SENTENCED IN
$235,000 RETIREMENT BENEFIT THEFT

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Anne Margaret Shea, 65, of Wilmington, VT was sentenced today by the Hon. J. Garvan Murtha following her guilty plea on June 5, 2009, to an indictment alleging theft of government retirement benefits. According to the indictment, from approximately February 1982 until November 2005, Shea submitted false paperwork in connection with postal service retirement benefits payable to her deceased mother. The indictment alleged that as the government, unaware of Shea’s mother’s death, continued to pay benefits, Shea fraudulently endorsed and deposited the benefit checks for her own use.

After acknowledging Shea’s age and significant health issues, Hon. J. Garvan Murtha sentenced her to three years of probation and payment of restitution for the full $235,787.41 in fraudulently obtained retirement benefits. Shea was represented by Elizabeth Mann, Esq., of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Burlington, Vermont. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia A. P. Cowles handled the case for the government. The U.S. Attorney’s Office recognizes the hard work of the U.S Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service in investigating the case.