Nakia Palmer, SSA Worker, Convicted in $25K Benefit Fraud Scheme

Montgomery, Ala. — A former Social Security Administration employee and her husband were found guilty Thursday, February 15, 2018, in a $25,000 public benefit fraud scheme that exploited the very system she was paid to uphold. Nakia Palmer, 35, and Nathaniel Palmer, 30, both Montgomery residents, were convicted on multiple felony counts after a federal jury delivered a damning verdict. Nakia Palmer, once trusted with sensitive federal programs, now faces up to 20 years in prison for betraying that trust.

Nakia Palmer was found guilty of mail fraud, theft of government property, Social Security benefit fraud, and food stamp fraud. Her husband, Nathaniel Palmer, was convicted of mail fraud, theft of government property, and witness tampering. Each was convicted on every count they faced. The trial revealed that Nakia falsely claimed to be an actress living in California while she actually worked for the SSA in Montgomery. She lied to Dothan, Alabama, SSA officials, stating she had left her minor son in her husband’s sole custody — a calculated move to hide her income and inflate the child’s eligibility for benefits.

The fraud didn’t stop at Social Security. The Palmers submitted identical falsehoods to obtain food stamps, falsely reporting income and household status. Despite claiming financial hardship, they never used the illicit funds to support Nakia’s child. Instead, investigators proved the couple spent thousands on a vehicle — a luxury purchased with taxpayer dollars meant for the vulnerable. In total, the scheme netted approximately $25,000 in benefits they were never entitled to receive.

When the net began to close, Nathaniel Palmer tried to cover their tracks. After learning of the federal investigation, he approached his next-door neighbor and pressured them to lie about the family’s living arrangements. That act of witness tampering sealed his fate in court. Federal prosecutors presented recorded conversations and witness testimony proving the attempt to obstruct justice, adding a criminal charge that carries its own 20-year maximum sentence.

“Government benefit programs exist to ensure that those in need do not go without the necessities of life,” said United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. “The Palmers abused the system not out of need, but to maintain their lifestyles. In carrying out their greedy scheme, the Palmers apparently thought that they were above the law. I hope that this verdict sends the message that the theft of taxpayers’ dollars will not go unpunished.”

Law enforcement officials emphasized the gravity of an insider abusing public programs. “The Social Security Office of the Inspector General has no higher priority than the investigation and prosecution of employees who violate the public’s trust by using their knowledge of the SSA programs to defraud the very agency that employs them,” said SSA-OIG Special Agent in Charge Margaret Moore-Jackson. The case was investigated by the SSA-OIG, HHS-OIG, USDA-OIG, and Alabama Department of Human Resources. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross and Joshua Wendell. Sentencing is pending, with both defendants facing 20-year terms and steep fines.