Her dad died in 2006, but she kept collecting his benefits in Pennsylvania, feds say

When Loraleigh Helen Barber’s father died in December 2006, authorities say she never reported his death to the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Instead, starting the next month, the Erie, Pennsylvania, woman began collecting his Social Security benefits for herself, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

From Jan. 1, 2007 through Aug. 2, 2019, federal officials say Barber received $127,636 in Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance benefits intended for her dad. She used those funds for herself.

Barber originally pleaded not guilty to theft of government property, but she changed her plea to guilty in January, court records show.

On July 20, the 51-year-old woman was sentenced to one year and a day in prison. She’s also required to pay the full $127,636 in restitution.

Her defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on July 21.

In a letter to the court, Barber’s attorney Aaron Sontz said “her entire criminal history stems from an extremely turbulent and difficult time from 2005 through 2008 during which she was suffering from domestic abuse, mental health issues, drug addiction, and homelessness.”

He says she had became her father’s representative payee prior to his death “because her father was an alcoholic” and she had been financially supporting him for years. She was “very close” to him.

As time passed, Ms. Barber grew accustomed to having the extra income, and much like a drug, she became dependent on it,” Sontz wrote in the sentencing memorandum. “She used the money to pay her rent and living expenses.”

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