AMHERST, N.H. — Mary Sosa, 57, of Amherst, has admitted to stealing more than $115,000 in government benefits by lying about her marriage for nearly two decades. Sosa pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to three counts of Making False Statements, capping a years-long scheme to defraud Social Security, Medicaid, and the federal food stamp program.
Court records reveal Sosa began collecting Social Security disability benefits in 1997 — but never told the government she married in September 2001. Instead, she repeatedly claimed she was never married. When she finally acknowledged the marriage in 2014, she lied again, claiming her husband moved out just two days after the wedding. That lie kept her eligible for benefits meant only for low-income individuals.
Sosa’s deception stretched across multiple agencies. She applied for Medicaid in July 2013 and SNAP (food stamps) in July 2014, falsely telling the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services she was single and living alone. In reality, her husband’s income disqualified her from every program. His earnings were never reported — because if they had been, the checks would’ve stopped.
The fraud added up fast. Sosa stole $91,669.38 in disability payments, $21,524.59 in Medicaid coverage, and $1,963 in food stamps — a total of $115,156.96 in taxpayer-funded aid she never should have received. Investigators say the lies were deliberate, sustained, and exposed only after a multi-agency probe peeled back years of false filings.
The case was cracked by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and the NH DHHS Special Investigations Unit, with support from Amherst police. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki prosecuted the case, calling Sosa’s actions “a calculated betrayal of public trust.” Sosa now faces sentencing on May 4, 2017. She remains free on court-ordered conditions.
Federal benefits are a lifeline for the vulnerable — not a piggy bank for the dishonest. Sosa’s scam may be over, but the cost to taxpayers lingers. As the feds move to recover every stolen dollar, her case stands as a warning: fraud doesn’t pay — eventually, the truth catches up.
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Key Facts
- State: New Hampshire
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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