$446,000 Employee Fraud Scheme

     From a press release:

Martin Hernandez, 45, of Selma [CA], pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain unauthorized Social Security benefit payments, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Hernandez met Social Security benefit recipients through his employment at the Social Security Administration. Hernandez recruited certain recipients to receive fraudulent payments in addition to the benefits that they were entitled to receive. These recipients agreed to return a substantial amount of the money they received from the fraudulent payments back to Hernandez. Hernandez electronically initiated the payments from his workstation at the Social Security Administration offices where he worked. After Hernandez caused the beneficiaries to receive the fraudulent overpayments, he would instruct them to meet him in person to give him cash. During the course of the scheme, Hernandez caused the Social Security Administration to make unauthorized payments of over $446,000. ...