Former Rocky Hill Resident Pleads Guilty to Scamming Her Way Into Dead Relative's Social Security Benefits: Prosecutor

ROCKY HILL, CT — A former Rocky Hill resident now living in Ireland has entered a guilty plea in a case in which she is accused of fudging a dead relative's Social Security account so she could receive benefits that totaled into six figures, a leading prosecutor said.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Monday that Maryanne Stephens, 68, of Ireland, formerly of Rocky Hill, entered a guilty plea before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to one count of theft of public money for stealing Social Security retirement benefits that had been deposited into her deceased mother-in-law’s bank account.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Stephens' mother-in-law began receiving Social Security retirement benefits in 1971.

Her mother-in-law died in October 1998, according to court documents.

However, approximately $204,000 in Social Security retirement benefits were directly deposited into her mother-in-law’s bank account after her death, Daly said.

In pleading guilty, Stephens admitted that, from about March 2004 to December 2010, she forged her mother-in-law’s signature on bank checks in order to fraudulently obtain approximately $126,000 in Social Security retirement benefits that were deposited into her mother-in-law’s bank account after her mother-in-law had died.

Chief Judge Hall scheduled sentencing for Feb. 28, Daly said. Stephens faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution in the amount of $125,938, Daly said.

Stephens has surrendered her passport and has been released on a $200,000 bond since her arrest on April 20, Daly said.

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