From staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — Wendi Baldwin, 47, was sentenced to six months in prison and six months home detention following a plea agreement after she admitted to stealing more than $155,000 in social security benefits over 21 years.
Baldwin’s grandmother died in December of 1991, according to a release, and the benefits were being deposited directly into a joint bank account she held with her grandmother. Baldwin failed to notify the Social Security Administration of her grandmother’s death, and converted the benefits to her personal use according to the report.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn ordered Baldwin to forfeit $30,934 and pay the same amount in restitution, despite receiving more than $155,000 in benefits due to the statute of limitations. Because of the limitations, the government was only able to recover five years of benefits.