A D.C. woman will spend eight months in prison for bilking the Social Security Administration out of more than $54,000 in disability benefits, federal officials said Monday.
Celeste Davis, 54, pleaded guilty in May to a felony charge of making false statements to the SSA regarding the benefits to which she was entitled.
In 2003, Davis applied for Social Security survivor’s benefits for her daughter, whose late father was a member of the military, officials said. Davis told the SSA the disability payments she received would be spent on her daughter, but lost custody of the girl in 2004. Davis continued to collect disability payments even though she was no longer caring for her daughter, officials said, telling the SSA her daughter was still living with her.
This continued for nearly four years until June 2008, officials said. Eventually, Davis was overpaid $54,750 in Social Security benefits, officials said.
On top of an eight-month prison term, she’s required to repay the money in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.
