Berwick Woman Sentenced, Ordered to Repay $118,251 for Defrauding Social Security Administration

Press Release

Suzanne Hercock lied to fraudulently collect SSI payments for more than a decade

PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for Social Security fraud.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Suzanne Hercock, 47, to four years of probation and ordered her to pay $118,251 in restitution. Hercock pleaded guilty on May 24, 2024.

According to court records, from about December 2008 to February 2020, Hercock lied to the Social Security Administration (SSA) about the presence of her husband, her children's father, in the household, to fraudulently collect Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments on behalf of the children. In multiple benefit eligibility reviews, Hercock falsely represented to the SSA that she and her husband lived separately. She failed to disclose her husband's presence and income despite knowing that she was required to and that it would affect her eligibility to receive benefits.

SSA's Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

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Updated November 21, 2024