Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
An East Weymouth resident has admitted to bank fraud in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Debora A. Siler, 68, pleaded guilty on September 10, 2025, before U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin. Sentencing is set for December 15, 2025.
Siler was charged in August with obtaining approximately $61,685 in Social Security benefits from June 2015 through September 2020 by using a deceased beneficiary’s checkbook and debit card. The individual whose benefits were taken died in May 2015. Authorities say Siler did not report the death to either the Social Security Administration or the bank where the payments were deposited.
Instead, she accessed the funds by forging checks and making regular withdrawals using the debit card until September 2020.
The charge of bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine that could reach $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss involved in the offense. Actual sentences are determined by federal judges based on guidelines and statutory factors.
"United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case."
