A 62-year-old Spencer woman has been charged with defrauding the Social Security Administration (SSA) out of nearly $42,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on Monday. Gina Llerena-Donohue faces one count of bank fraud after allegedly exploiting her position as a power of attorney holder for a deceased Social Security beneficiary.
Between February 2006 and May 2021, Llerena-Donohue is accused of fraudulently obtaining approximately $41,954.20 in Social Security benefits. The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims she failed to inform the Social Security Administration or the bank where the benefits were deposited that the beneficiary had passed away in January 2006.
Instead, Llerena-Donohue allegedly withdrew the improperly deposited funds through multiple counter cash transactions over the years. In addition to this, she is accused of submitting four false affidavits to the bank in 2018 and 2019, falsely stating that the power of attorney was still valid despite the beneficiary’s death.
If convicted, Llerena-Donohue faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and fines up to $250,000 or twice the amount of the gain or loss, whichever is greater.
These charges are allegations, and Llerena-Donohue is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
