Acting United States Attorney Steve Butler of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Chief Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Sophia McGadney on August 4, 2017 to 5 years on probation and ordered her to pay the total amount of loss for the theft. McGadney was charged with violating 18 USC § 641, Theft of Government Funds.
Sophia McGadney’s grandfather, an Armed Services veteran, earned veteran benefits that were continued on to his surviving spouse, Ms. McGadney’s grandmother, upon his death. The funds were directly deposited into a bank account that Ms. McGadney shared with her grandmother.
Upon her grandmother’s death, Ms. McGadney did not inform the Department of Veteran Affairs, and continued to receive the funds. Ms. McGadney transferred the funds each month, from the account she held jointly with her grandmother, to another bank account that she opened as the sole account holder. She continued to receive the funds for five years, resulting in the total theft of
$ 103,113.00.
The Veteran Affairs Office of the Inspector General investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Baugh prosecuted the case for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
