SSA OIG Reports Multiple Convictions and Charges in Widespread Benefit Fraud Cases

The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA OIG) has announced several recent charges, pleas, and sentencings related to the theft of government funds and Social Security benefits across the United States and its territories. These cases highlight ongoing efforts to combat fraud against federal programs.

In Guam, Joseph Benavente Wusstig, 59, was sentenced to six months in prison and three years of supervised release for stealing $58,248 in Social Security disability benefits intended for his deceased wife. Wusstig, her representative payee, failed to report her death in August 2018 and continued accessing funds until December 2023. He was ordered to pay full restitution. Similarly, Danny Alan Guyton, 53, of Reidsville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to theft of government money, having fraudulently received $60,170 by cashing his deceased father-in-law's disability checks from June 2021 to April 2025.

Jennifer Valley, a Barre woman, pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud for stealing over $100,000 in benefits from a deceased beneficiary, whose death she failed to report while acting as representative payee. Sentencing is set for August 28, 2026. Christopher D. Leon, 56, formerly of Haverhill, faces charges for receiving approximately $87,817 in stolen Social Security disability benefits between November 2019 and August 2025.

Further cases include an unknown man convicted in Pocatello for using a deceased child's identity for 25 years to obtain nearly $300,000 in SSI, Medicaid, SNAP, and Economic Impact Payments. Juan Felipe Chalas, an undocumented Dominican national in Salem, N.H., pleaded guilty to identity theft and fraudulently obtaining over $300,000 in SNAP, Social Security disability, and MassHealth benefits using an American citizen's identity. Andrew Langford, 50, of Ft. Washington, Maryland, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for concealing his cleaning businesses and income to illegally receive over $270,000 in Social Security disability benefits from 2014 to 2021. Sentencing for Chalas is scheduled for September 8, 2026, and for Langford on September 1.