CINCINNATI – Napoleon Crawford, 52, of Mason, was arrested and appeared in U.S. District Court here on July 30 to face charges in a two-count indictment alleging that Crawford has stolen more than $80,000 in Social Security and Department of Defense benefits earned by his father, a retired Navy officer who died in 2016.
Crawford is the fifteenth person charged this year in the 48-county Southern District of Ohio based on results of a large audit conducted by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, which found that dozens of Ohioans are illegally collecting a deceased relative’s federal retirement, Social Security or Veterans’ Administration benefits.
Ten of the fifteen people have pleaded guilty to charges of theft of public funds, a felony that is punishable by up to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The fifteen charged allegedly received more than $898,000 in benefits.
One person has been sentenced so far. Debra Edwards, 57, of South Lebanon was sentenced July 28. Edwards was ordered to repay $49,575 in benefits she received illegally and serve three years’ probation with the first 90 days to be served in home detention.
“We will prosecute people who stick their hands in the pockets of taxpayers to steal benefits earned by their relatives,” said David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “The investigation is continuing and others could be charged.”
In addition to Crawford and Edwards, the following individuals have been charged:
Name Age City Amount Status
Lori Barker
51
Hamilton
$53,406
Awaiting sentencing
Kinnard Asher
60
South Lebanon
$33,308
Awaiting sentencing
Billy Gray
44
Mt. Orab
$43,998
Awaiting sentencing
Laverne Harrison
60
Cincinnati
$40,079
Awaiting sentencing
Linda Daniels
62
Mt. Orab
$62,336
Awaiting sentencing
Wayne Coulter II
33
Cincinnati
$28,742
Charges pending
Ronald Lewis
43
Hamilton
$55,508
Awaiting sentencing
Douglas Dible
68
Richwood
$153,962
Awaiting sentencing
Gloria Funk
65
New Lexington
$55,920
Awaiting sentencing
Victor Warren
52
Marietta
$36,090
Charges pending
Donald Hawkins Jr.
47
Columbus
$27,120
Charges pending
Christina Saldana
41
West Carrollton
$103,042
Charges pending
Nathaniel Carruth
64
Dayton
$75,077
Awaiting sentencing
The cases are part of the national Social Security Administration (SSA) Fraud Prosecution Project, a collaboration with SSA’s Office of the General Counsel, Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Justice.
For more information on SSA’s Fraud Prosecution Project and the agency’s other anti-fraud efforts, please visit https://www.ssa.gov/antifraudfacts/.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, along with the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, Office of Audit; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General; The Veterans’ Administration Office of Inspector General; the United States Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General and the United States Secret Service announced the results of the ongoing initiative. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this initiative.
Statements contained in indictments or bills of information are allegations only. Defendants should be presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year