Silver Spring Doctor Stole $500K Of Dead Mom's Benefits: DOJ

GREENBELT, MD — A Silver Spring woman is being indicted on federal charges which allege she committed fraud to get over $517,000 of her dead mother's social security and teachers' retirement benefits, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Crystal McGinty, 58, faces up to 32 years in prison.

The charges allege McGinty's mother died in June of 2005, and that her name was on the death certificate as the person informed. McGinty, a physician, didn't tell the Social Security Administration nor the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York that her mother had died, and collected her benefits for 13 years, until June of 2018.

Her mother, most recently a Maryland resident, began receiving teachers' benefits in 1972 and her Social Security payments in 1989.

From June 2005 to June 2018, the indictment says, she kept receiving the payments to her mother and deposited them into a joint account under her name, her mother's name and her mother's deceased husband's name. The accusations allege her mother's signature on the checks was forged, and that she knew.

McGinty faked proof-of-life forms to the New York teachers' retirement program, claiming to be her own mother's physician, the charges allege. She's also accused of calling the program and posing as her mother to get benefits reinstated.

"McGinty allegedly used the funds to pay utility bills, mortgage fees, credit cards, and other expenditures," the Department of Justice said. "According to court documents, the expenditures also included fees associated with renewing McGinty’s Health Professional License, tuition at a private high school in Washington, D.C., international and domestic travel, and a cruise vacation."

District of Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration announced the indictment.

“Criminals who lie, cheat, and steal to obtain benefits to which they are not entitled defraud not only the Social Security Administration, but all law-abiding citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.

McGinty faces charges of mail fraud (up to 20 years in prison), theft of government property (up to 10 years in prison) and aggravated identity theft (mandatory two years in prison).

U.S. Attorney Michael Davio is prosecuting the case.

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