A 57-year-old Methuen woman pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Boston to stealing Social Security benefits intended for her child.
Karen Silva-Brown, pleaded guilty to theft of public funds before U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, who scheduled sentencing for March 7. She was arrested and charged in November 2022 for continuing to take benefit payments after her child was no longer in her custody.
According to court documents, Silva-Brown took approximately $60,810 in Social Security benefits that were intended for her minor child between November 2014 and October 2018. Prosecutors said Silva-Brown applied for and began receiving benefits in March 2012 on behalf of her child, but was told to tell the Social Security Administration if her child left her custody. Silva-Brown did not notify the agency when she lost custody of her child in November 2014. Instead, prosecutors charged, “Silva-Brown provided two fraudulent accountings to SSA in June and July 2016 where she claimed that her child still lived with her and that she spent all the Social Security benefits she received for her child’s care. In reality, Silva-Brown used the vast majority of the stolen funds to pay her own bills.”
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case for Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office.