$760,000 Social Security fraud costs supervisor her Harley Davidson, NC judge says
A former employee at the Social Security Administration in North Carolina is accused of lying to get more than $760,000 in benefits over the course of eight years.
Now she’s headed to prison.
Stephanie Chavis, a onetime operations supervisor at the administration’s Fayetteville offices, was sentenced Monday to five years and five months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Court filings show Chavis was also ordered to pay $760,966 in restitution and give up her 2011 Harley Davidson.
“Ms. Chavis misused her official position and authority in the Social Security Administration to steal over $760,000 in taxpayer funds,” said Gail S. Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration, adding that the fraud was uncovered during a routine audit.
Public defenders representing Chavis did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Wednesday.
Chavis is from Saint Pauls, North Carolina, a small town of roughly 2,100 residents in Robeson County.
The Social Security Administration is a federal agency tasked with administering retirement, disability and survivor benefits to qualifying individuals. One of the programs under its purview is the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which is designed to help people over 65 who are blind or have other disabilities with little to no income.
From 2010 to 2018, Chavis is accused of misdirecting nearly $761,000 in SSI underpayments, which occur when individuals don’t receive the full amount of SSI benefits they’re owed.
A grand jury indicted her in October 2018 on 13 counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of government property.
As an operations supervisor, prosecutors said, Chavis had access to the accounts and personal identifying information of Social Security beneficiaries. She also controlled no fewer than nine bank accounts belonging to herself and family members.
According to the indictment, Chavis used her government-issued PIN to look into the accounts of at least 62 Social Security beneficiaries and steal their personal information. She then reportedly used that information to receive unauthorized SSI underpayments.
Prosecutors said she did so by lying to “unsuspecting” claims representatives, who created 93 automated one-time payments that Chavis or another supervisor then approved.
Court filings show the amounts ranged from $8,800 to $26,400.
Chavis pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in April 2019. She was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no sooner than Jan. 3.
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 2:07 PM with the headline "$760,000 Social Security fraud costs supervisor her Harley Davidson, NC judge says."
