COLUMBIA, S.C.
A 75-year-old North Carolina woman has been sentenced to five years of probation for her role in a multi-decade scheme to collect Social Security benefits under fraudulent identities.
Gayle Smith Gay, of Huntersville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and making a false statement in a passport application. United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie sentenced Gayle Smith Gay to a five-year term of court-ordered supervision to include 240 days of home detention.
As a condition of probation, Ms. Gay must pay $132,962.00 in restitution to the Social Security Administration. The scheme, which involved Gayle Smith Gay and her husband, Ivan Buxton Gay, Jr., began in 2006 and continued until April 2023, when law enforcement discovered their deception.
Evidence presented to the court showed that Gayle Smith Gay adopted the identity of her deceased sister, who died as an infant in February 1944, and her husband adopted the identity of Alvin Vincent Lee, who also died as a child in 1941. Using these false identities, the couple applied for Social Security numbers, passports, and benefits, which they collected until their scheme was exposed.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration and the Department of State. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Matthews prosecuted the case. Ivan Buxton Gay, Jr. pled guilty to the same charges in the Western District of North Carolina and is awaiting sentencing.
Gayle Smith Gay’s sentence is a significant blow to the couple’s scheme, which netted them over $132,000 in stolen benefits. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting government funds and the consequences of attempting to defraud the system.
Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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