Idaho Resident Pleads Guilty To Social Security Theft

BOISE - Melinda Sue Priddy, 43, of New Meadows, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to theft of $138,910.00 from the Social Security Administration, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, Priddy’s grandmother died in May 2004. At the time of her death, Priddy’s grandmother was receiving survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration, which were being deposited on a monthly basis into a bank account held jointly with Priddy. No one notified Social Security of the death, and the Social Security Administration continued to make monthly deposits into the account. Priddy, who was not entitled to receive any of her deceased grandmother’s Social Security benefits, withdrew those funds from the account from July of 2004 through May of 2013 for her own personal use, stealing a total of $138,910.00 from the Social Security Administration.

The charge carries a maximum punishment of up to 10 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and a minimum term of three years of supervised release.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 20, 2014, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise.

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration.