Jackson County Woman Sentenced to Prison for Theft of Social Security Income Benefits

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of West Virginia:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Monique Casto, 37, of Kenna, was sentenced today to 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for fraudulently obtaining Social Security Administration benefits. Casto was also ordered to pay $41,166 in restitution.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Casto unlawfully collected $41,166 in Social Security Survivor’s Insurance Benefits payments on behalf of a child after losing custody of that child.

Social Security representative payee benefits are based on income and living arrangements. The benefits require that the SSA money received actually be used for the well-being of the child. They also create a duty on the recipient to report a change in living arrangements.

In March 2006, Casto began receiving benefits for the care of the child as the child’s representative payee. Casto failed to disclose that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources took custody of the child in June 2015. Casto also failed to disclose that her parental rights were terminated in May 2016. Casto unlawfully collected benefits while continuing to represent that the child lived with her and in her care from June 2015 through August 2019.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and SSA-Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for conducting the investigation.

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White prosecuted the case.