A Fall River woman, Nancy Taylor, has admitted to stealing Social Security benefits meant for her child. In a federal court in Boston, Taylor, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public funds. Chief U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV has set her sentencing for May 12, 2025. The indictment against Taylor was issued by a federal grand jury in April 2024.
The court heard that between May 2016 and May 2022, Taylor embezzled approximately $86,994.58 intended for her minor child. Despite being informed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in August 2014 of her duty to notify them if her child left her custody, Taylor failed to do so after losing custody in May 2016. She continued receiving the benefits by updating contact information with SSA in October 2021 and later visited an SSA field office in June 2022 to reactivate the benefits using fraudulent forms claiming her child still lived with her.
Taylor used most of the stolen funds for personal expenses rather than for the care of her child as required.
The charge she faces could result in a sentence of up to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine reaching $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the crime. Sentencing will follow guidelines set by U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley along with Amy Connelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General's Office of Investigations at the Boston Field Division. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg from the Major Crimes Unit.