Catherine M. Anzalone, 55, of Brockton, is behind bars after being hit with a federal indictment accusing her of siphoning $155,736 in Social Security benefits over 17 years. The scheme, which ran from April 2000 to April 2017, has landed her a single count of theft of public funds — a crime that reeks of betrayal against the system meant to protect the vulnerable.
Federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment today in Boston’s U.S. District Court, exposing Anzalone’s alleged long-term exploitation of government benefits. Authorities say she knowingly collected payments she wasn’t entitled to, gaming the Social Security Administration for nearly two decades. The cash haul, totaling $155,736, wasn’t spent in shadows — it passed through official channels, enriching Anzalone while legitimate recipients waited.
The charge she faces carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 — or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is higher. If the court comes down hard, Anzalone could spend her late 50s and early 60s behind bars, paying for choices made during nearly two decades of deception.
U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Division, confirmed the arrest and charges in a joint statement. The case is being handled by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki, part of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit, known for cracking down on financial fraud with relentless precision.
According to investigators, the indictment lays bare a methodical pattern of benefit theft — not a one-time error or clerical mishap, but a sustained fraud that drained taxpayer-funded programs. The Social Security Administration, already under strain, doesn’t need grifters like Anzalone treating disability or retirement funds like personal piggy banks.
As of now, Anzalone remains presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. But the evidence, once unsealed, paints a damning picture of greed and entitlement. The feds aren’t playing nice when public money vanishes — and this case proves they’re willing to dig deep, even when the crime isn’t violent, but just plain vicious in its own way.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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