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Steilacoom Woman Sentenced for Faking Cancer Diagnosis
A 36-year-old Steilacoom, Washington woman was sentenced to 60 days home confinement and 100 hours of community service for defrauding Social Security Disability and the U.S. Army healthcare system of more than $100,000 in benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. Maria Sanchez-Kountz, 36, defrauded the systems by pretending to have terminal cancer to secure prescription opiates and Social Security disability benefits.
According to records filed in the case, between February 2012 and July 2016, Sanchez-Kountz received disability payments because she claimed she could not work due to terminal cancer. She also received benefit payments for her children as part of her disability claims. Sanchez-Kountz falsely reported a history of ovarian cancer that was treated with surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. When Sanchez-Kountz visited doctors between 2011 and 2015, she described to them her false history of cancer, and that description was memorialized in her medical records, which she used as further proof of her condition.
Sanchez-Kountz was working for a Lakewood, Washington company as a seamstress during some of the period when she was collecting disability benefits. She even had a tailoring business that she promoted on a website by falsely claiming she was a cancer survivor. Sanchez-Kountz’s scheme became known when medical professionals could not locate any records related to her prior treatment at medical facilities where she claimed to have been a patient.
The case was investigated by the Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit (CDIU), which is a disability fraud task force comprised of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Washington State Patrol (WSP) and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Disability Determination Services (DDS). The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Diggs. Mr. Diggs is an attorney with the Social Security Administration, specially designated to prosecute fraud cases in federal court.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle noted that Sanchez-Kountz is the sole parent to two children and imposed five years of probation and ordered her to pay $102,932 in restitution. Sanchez-Kountz stole more than $82,000 in disability payments and more than $20,000 in military medical benefits.
Defendant: Maria Sanchez-Kountz
Criminal Charges: Defrauding Social Security Disability and the U.S. Army healthcare system
City and State: Steilacoom, Washington
Date: Not specified, but case investigated between 2012 and 2016
Sentence: 60 days home confinement, 100 hours of community service, five years of probation, and $102,932 in restitution
Dollar Amounts: $102,932 in restitution, more than $82,000 in disability payments, and more than $20,000 in military medical benefits
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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