KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman was found guilty by a federal jury for stealing federal benefits.
Divianys Morales-Alvarez, 50, was found guilty of two counts of theft of government funds, one count of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
In 2024, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General (“SSA-OIG”) received a report of a retirement beneficiary living in Cuba in substandard conditions. This beneficiary, R.A., had moved to Cuba upon her retirement in February of 2020. The United States Treasury does not allow government payments to individuals living in Cuba; however, SSA was not made aware of R.A.’s move so it continued to send her monthly benefits to her bank account in the United States on which her daughter, Morales-Alvarez, was a joint owner. This successful prosecution is one of many federal fraud cases pursued under the…
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