LAUDERDALE LAKES, FLA. (WSVN) - Terri Lynn Hankerson, 59, was sentenced to five months of imprisonment followed by five months of home confinement for stealing nearly $50,000 in Social Security benefits. She may also be ordered to pay restitution.
On Wednesday, Hankerson was accused of stealing Social Security benefits from her deceased father after she was made a joint owner of his account about a year and a half before her father died in June 2016.
Her father received Social Security benefits by direct deposit into a retirement account and after his death, Hankerson did not notify the Social Security Administration or the bank, which continued the monthly deposits from the Social Security Administration. Included in these payments was the cost of living adjustments, from July 2016 until it suspended the benefits in Feb. 2020.
Hankerson was found guilty by a federal jury after a four-day trial for the theft of Social Security benefits that occurred several years following her father’s death.
The 59-year-old Lauderdale Lakes resident spent the Social Security benefits at concerts, strip clubs, Miami Heat games, Costco, hotels, bars, and other places.
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