ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis woman appeared in federal court on Monday and admitted to stealing her late grandmother’s government benefits.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri said Shamari Jackson, 32, did not properly report her father and grandmother’s deaths to the Social Security Administration. As a result, the SSA continued to deposit Social Security benefits into her grandmother’s account.
Jackson told the court she used her grandmother’s debit card to access more than $13,000 in Social Security benefits that had been deposited post-death.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said Jackson also received and used her grandmother’s $1,200 COVID-19 stimulus check, even though she’d passed away.
Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government money.
Jackson will be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2025. She faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
