United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that LaTosha Bolton, age 48, of Omaha, Nebraska, was convicted on Oct. 16, 2014, after a jury found her guilty of theft of government property and mail fraud. The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp presided over the trial that was held this week in Federal District Court. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 12, 2015. Ms. Bolton faces 20 years of imprisonment on the mail fraud conviction and 10 years imprisonment for the theft.
From 1993 until 2013 Ms. Bolton was receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits on behalf of one of her children. While it was clear the child did have a disability, by finding her guilty, the jury found that Ms. Bolton did not use the money for the benefit of her child as required by law. Ms. Bolton received $124,960.00 of government SSI funds and most of that money was sent through the United States mails.
The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General, Social Security.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys