DOJ Charges 17 in $1.3 Million Social Security Fraud Crackdown
The Justice Department has charged 17 people accused of attempting to steal more than $1.3 million from Social Security benefit programs, including an Illinois woman accused of collecting government benefits while concealing her dead mother’s body in a freezer for two years.
The cases were announced Tuesday as part of a month-long enforcement surge led by the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. Between Aug. 21 and Sept. 18, federal prosecutors working with 11 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General brought cases involving an estimated $1.34 million in intended losses.
One of the most disturbing cases involves 72-year-old Eva Bratcher of Chicago. Federal prosecutors allege Bratcher concealed her mother’s body in a deep freezer inside her garage for two years while assuming her identity and continuing to collect her Social Security benefits.
Bratcher is also accused of using her mother’s SNAP benefits and using another Social Security number to obtain additional benefits she was not entitled to receive. Federal authorities estimate the intended loss connected to her alleged scheme at $21,402.
Bratcher’s mother, Regina Michalski, died in March 2021. Bratcher previously pleaded guilty in state court to concealing her mother’s death and possessing a fraudulent identification card after authorities discovered Michalski’s body in the freezer in 2023. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison in that case.
The nationwide crackdown involved defendants from several states accused of exploiting Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. The participating federal prosecutors came from districts in Idaho, Rhode Island, Michigan, Illinois, New York, Ohio, California, Texas, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
The cases involve a variety of alleged schemes, including defendants accused of continuing to collect benefits belonging to dead relatives, concealing information from the government and improperly obtaining payments they were not entitled to receive.
The enforcement effort comes after the Justice Department established its National Fraud Enforcement Division in April. The division was created to concentrate federal resources on fraud targeting taxpayers and government programs and is working alongside other agencies to identify potentially fraudulent benefit payments.
The Justice Department said the initiative supports President Trump’s broader Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is chaired by Vice President JD Vance. The administration has made identifying fraud, waste and abuse in federal programs a major priority.
Federal officials say the latest cases demonstrate their intention to aggressively pursue people suspected of exploiting programs intended to support elderly, disabled and vulnerable Americans. The charges announced Tuesday are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.