A Kansas City, Mo., woman pleaded guilty and was sentenced for a Social Security and bankruptcy fraud scheme. Carol Dille pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud. She was sentenced to two years in federal prison without parole and was also ordered to pay $76,601 in restitution. (With these antics, she may make “Carol” the new “Karen.”)
Dille fraudulently filed an online application for Social Security retirement insurance benefits in September 2013. Ordinarily there would be nothing wrong with someone applying for benefits, but Dille applied using the name of her ex-husband Gerald Sanders. (I don’t think that was agreed upon in the divorce.)
The application was fraudulently filled out using Gerald’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number. Sanders has been living overseas since the couple separated in 2009 and was not aware that Dille filled out an application in his name. (That may put a dent in his worldwide travels.)
Pretending to be Sanders, Diller listed her home address, phone number, and email address for the contact information. She also listed a bank account belonging to “Alliance of Divine Love Chapel 1202.” She directed the benefits to be deposited to the account where she was the authorized user. (Do we even want to know what the Alliance of Divine Love Chapel is?)
To avoid suspicion, Dille reached out to Sanders close to his 65th birthday in June 2016 offering to help him set up his Social Security account. (They must have had an amicable divorce settlement.) Sanders was unaware that Dille had already been collecting benefits in his name for three years. Instead, he took Dille up on her offer to help him “set up” an account. This allowed Dille to continue to divert $1,420 a month of his benefits to her own bank account.
Sanders moved from Indonesia to Guam in August 2016 and went to the Guam Social Security office to check on his application. It was at this point that Sanders was informed that the Social Security Administration had been paying benefits in his name since October 2013. (I’m sure that made for a lovely conversation with his ex-wife.)
In total, Dille received $76,601 in monthly benefits since 2013, which were rightfully intended for Sanders. Dille had also used the Alliance of Divine Love Chapel bank account twice to commit bankruptcy fraud.
Dille filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy on May 7, 2015 claiming $500,001 to $1 million in estimated liabilities. She failed to list the Alliance of Divine Love bank account and the benefits she was receiving. Dille filed for bankruptcy again in March 2016, and once again failed to list the Alliance of Divine Love bank account. Both bankruptcy cases were dismissed because she failed to make required payments. (No wonder she needed to steal Sanders’ benefits.)
In addition to committing Social Security fraud and the two counts of bankruptcy fraud, Dille also violated the terms of her plea agreement. Within three months of entering a guilty plea, Dille committed bankruptcy fraud once again. (This lady is a hot mess. Dille may actually need to file for bankruptcy after she’s done paying restitution.)
This bankruptcy fraud was a result of concealing the sale of real estate from the bankruptcy court and U.S Trustee’s office. Dille admitted that she did not intend to use the proceeds to repay her creditors despite the sale having gone through and the property being an asset of her bankruptcy estate.
Today’s Fraud of the Day comes from a Department of Justice press release, “KC Woman Sentenced for Social Security, Bankruptcy Fraud Scheme,” on November 6, 2020.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court today for a Social Security and bankruptcy fraud scheme.
Carol L. Dille, 68, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to two years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Dille to pay $76,601 in restitution.
