A Spencer woman pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $42,000 in Social Security benefits in federal court on Friday, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Gina Llerena-Donohue, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
From February 2006 through May 2021, Llerena-Donohue fraudulently obtained $41,954.20 in Social Security benefits, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. She accomplished this by not notifying anyone that a beneficiary who she had power of attorney over had died in January 2006.
Llerena-Donohue accessed the improperly paid benefits through several counter cash withdrawals, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Furthermore, she submitted four false affidavits to the bank in 2018 and 2019 stating that the power of attorney was still in effect because it had not been terminated by the death of the beneficiary.
A federal judge scheduled Llerena-Donohue’s sentencing for July 23, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.