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Federal jury finds Pompano Beach resident guilty in $152,000 Social Security case
Asha Anderson was convicted after a six-day trial of taking retirement benefits paid to her deceased great-aunt. Prosecutors say the withdrawals continued for nearly six years in Pompano Beach and Coconut Creek.
A federal jury found Asha Anderson, 48, of Pompano Beach guilty of theft of government funds and Social Security fraud after a six-day trial, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Anderson took more than $152,000 in retirement benefits intended for her great-aunt, who had died, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Social Security Administration continued depositing benefits into the woman’s bank account after her death, and Anderson repeatedly accessed the account, court records cited by prosecutors show.
From April 2017 through December 2022, Anderson made hundreds of cash withdrawals from ATMs in Pompano Beach and Coconut Creek, prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said the verdict underscores that people who steal from public programs will be prosecuted. Social Security benefits are intended for people who qualify for them, he said.
Anderson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for theft of government funds and up to five years for Social Security fraud. The announcement did not include a sentencing date.