Newport Woman Sentenced For Stealing $74K In Benefits From Veteran

NEWPORT, RI — A Newport woman was sentenced in federal court on Friday after admitting to stealing $74,000 in benefits from a U.S. military veteran.

Lisa Heino, 55, formerly of North Easton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to two counts of the of public funds. She was sentenced to two months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, with the first 10 months to be served in home confinement. Heino was also ordered to pay restitution of $74,045.

Prosecutors said the benefits came from the Veteran Affairs (VA) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and belonged to a veteran she was supposed to protect.

In May 2014, Heino was appointed by the Massachusetts state court to serve as the conservator for a disabled veteran and retired federal employee. Later, in October 2014, Heino became the OPM representative payee for the victim as well. As a court-appointed conservator and representative payee, Heino had access to the federal VA and OPM monthly benefit payments that were directly deposited into the victim’s bank account.

In this capacity, Heino transferred federal VA and OPM benefit payments from the victim’s bank account to her own bank account and used the money for her own expenses. Specifically, from about June 2017 through August 2018, Heino stole or converted approximately $44,191 in VA funds she was not entitled to for her own use. Additionally, from about January 2017 through January 2019, Heino stole or converted approximately $29,853 in OPM funds she was not entitled to for her own use.