Prisoner & Accomplice Nabbed in $42K SSA Scam

BIRMINGHAM, AL – A brazen scheme to siphon over $42,000 from the Social Security Administration has landed an Alabama inmate and a northeast Alabama woman in federal hot water. Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey and Margaret Moore-Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, Atlanta Field Division, announced the charges today, exposing a years-long con built on deception and greed.

RICHARD EARL STANLEY, 56, of Boaz, is facing six counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property. A federal grand jury indicted Stanley for allegedly scheming with an accomplice to illegally receive $42,870 in Social Security Type II Disability Insurance Benefits payments between January 2013 and September 2015. The indictment details a calculated effort to continue collecting benefits *while behind bars*.

Also charged is KRISTIN BLAIR FOX, 34, of Southside. The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an information against Fox on February 17th, charging her with four counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property. Crucially, Fox has entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, suggesting cooperation with the investigation. The scheme hinged on ATM withdrawals from Stanley’s Comerica Bank account, where the SSA deposited his disability benefits.

Court documents reveal Stanley initially received the disability benefits in 2002. However, his criminal activity repeatedly interrupted those payments. Following a felony conviction in June 2007, the SSA correctly terminated his benefits, notifying him his incarceration and “public funds” covering his stay disqualified him. He briefly reinstated them in 2012 by falsely claiming release, only to be re-incarcerated later that same year – a fact he conveniently omitted from the SSA. This set the stage for the illicit partnership with Fox. A fellow inmate allegedly connected the two in January 2013, hoping Fox could funnel funds to Stanley’s prison commissary account.

The arrangement, laid out in letters between Stanley and Fox, initially involved Fox collecting $175 monthly from the SSA funds and depositing $300 into Stanley’s commissary account. However, the deal quickly soured. Fox allegedly began pocketing the money for herself, while simultaneously complaining when Stanley didn’t receive his promised commissary funds. When Stanley’s debit card neared expiration in December 2014, he directed Fox to renew it – a task she ignored. The SSA finally cut off the payments in September 2015, bringing the scheme to an end.

The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) spearheaded the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews Johnson leading the prosecution. It’s a stark reminder that even behind bars, some will attempt to exploit the system. An indictment is merely an accusation, and both Stanley and Fox are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.