Pilates Instructor Sentenced After Fraudulently Obtaining Disability Benefits

Press Release

Defendant ordered by the court to pay back more than $148,000 in restitution

Salt Lake City, Utah - Hillary Brown, 41, of Taylorsville, Utah, was sentenced today to 12 months' home detention, five years' probation, and ordered by the court to pay $148,310.25 in restitution after defrauding the Social Security Administration (SSA) and other government agencies for approximately 15 years.

On July 9, 2024, Brown pleaded guilty to wire fraud before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. She was then sentenced before Senior U.S. District Court Judge David Sam.

According to court documents and statements made at Brown's sentencing hearing, beginning by at least May 13, 2009 and continuing until June 1, 2023, Brown deceived SSA to fraudulently obtain funds from the United States. She did so by providing the government with false and exaggerated information. Brown falsely claimed she was experiencing debilitating effects from an October 2008 stroke to such a degree that she had right side paralysis and could not work.

On December 15, 2009, Brown underwent a psychiatric assessment to support her application for SSA benefits. The examining doctor documented Brown's self-reports that she was struggling with brain damage. However, just days prior, Brown completed upper-level college coursework with As and Bs. Unaware of this mismatch in information, SSA granted Brown Title II disability benefits on December 16, 2009. From the outset of her benefits, SSA provided several notices to regularly remind Brown of her obligation to report any improvements in her condition to SSA. However, within months of receiving benefits and claiming cognitive and physical disabilities, Brown graduated from college. She later obtained a driver's license by certifying that she did not have a condition that impaired her ability to drive, despite claims to SSA that she could not drive due to crippling physical symptoms. She also obtained various physical certifications, including a Pilates Mat Teacher Training program diploma in July 2010, a certification indicating she completed 850 hours of requirements and testing to become a certified Pilates instructor in June 2015, and a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification in October 2018. Meanwhile, Brown continued to receive disability benefits and did not report any improvements in function to SSA.

After learning Brown was active and working, on February 13, 2021, SSA sent Brown a letter explaining she was not eligible to receive disability benefits and had received overpayment. Brown requested that the overpayment be waived and continued to claim she was too disabled to engage in substantial work, while also continuing to teach physically active classes and post about them on social media.

In the winter of 2022-2023, Brown submitted more false statements to SSA about her ability to work - claiming that right-side paralysis and other ailments still prevented her from working, and that they made basic functions like walking, standing, or using her arms difficult. However, during the same time frame, SSA agents observed and recorded hours of footage documenting Brown's capable lifestyle and active Pilates teaching.

Once SSA had the opportunity to review Brown's activities since receiving disability benefits, it became clear that she was never eligible for benefits. In fact, evidence from 2009 to 2023 indicates that Brown was highly functional within months of her stroke.

"Since 2009, Ms. Brown defrauded the government and stole from benefit programs that provide a critical safety net to those who truly need them and legally apply," said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. "My office, and our law enforcement partners, are committed to protecting these important benefits for their rightful recipients and holding to account those who fraudulently drain them."

"For 15 years, Hillary Brown defrauded SSA by feigning a disabling condition. By purporting debilitating effects from a stroke and partial paralysis, her false exaggerations caused SSA to improperly pay her disability benefits. This sentence holds her accountable for her criminal acts," said Michelle L. Anderson, Acting Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. "I am grateful for the outstanding work of our Cooperative Disability Investigations Division for conducting this investigation and continually working to protect SSA disability benefits for those who are truly eligible to receive them. I thank Special Assistant United States Attorney Sachi J. Jepson for prosecuting this case."

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Sachi J. Jepson of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

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Updated September 30, 2024