(The Associated Press circulated the following on July 23.)
PHILADELPHIA — A woman defrauded federal agencies out of nearly $270,000 in death and retirement benefits by failing to reveal her remarriage following the death of her first husband, and failing to reveal the death of her second husband.
Joeann Martin Barnes, 67, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements and converting government funds. She could face 18 to 24 months in jail when sentenced in October.
Barnes also agreed to repay the $270,000. “She’s trying to make amends; she’s a religious woman,” said her attorney, David Nenner.
Barnes’ first husband, Theodore R. Martin, was a military veteran, and she received benefits as a surviving spouse after his death in 1975. But she failed to notify the Department of Veterans Affairs when she remarried in 1981, which would have discontinued those benefits, and collected nearly $137,000 for which she was not eligible.
Barnes’ second husband, Leroy Barnes, a retired Amtrak worker, received a monthly retirement annuity, which was supposed to be cut off when he died in 1991. But Barnes did not notify the Railroad Retirement Board of his death, and had nearly $133,000 of his retirement checks electronically deposited in a bank account.