SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept 3, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Melody Jean Styszko, 54, now of Eldridge, Missouri, was sentenced in U.S. District Court of Utah to 60 months probation for spending $104,314 of Social Security benefits intended for her deceased father.
As a condition of avoiding prison time, a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah said Styszko must pay the $104,314 back to the Social Security Administration.
According to sentencing documents filed last week by federal prosecutors, Styszko maintained a joint checking account with her late father before his death. After her father died, Styszko continued to accept her father’s Social Security Retirement Insurance benefits as they were deposited into the same joint account for more than ten years.
Styszko spent the benefits on herself even though she admitted that “based on the facts known to [her], [she] was conscious and aware of the high probability that [she] was not entitled to this money,” the release said.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the District of Utah and was investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General.
