Cohoes Woman Sentenced for Social Security Fraud

ALBANY, New York, Feb. 1 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Grant C. Jaquith, issued the following news release:

Donna M. Smith, age 58, of Cohoes, New York, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for fraudulently obtaining disability insurance benefits.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant. C. Jaquith and John F. Grasso, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Office.

As part of her October 19, 2017 guilty plea, Smith admitted to submitting two false statements in which she claimed to have not worked between 2006 and 2015, when in fact she had worked for a total of eight Capital Region employers during this time. Disability insurance benefits are designed to replace, in part, the loss of income due to a disability.

Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn also ordered Smith to pay $108,866.20 in restitution to the SSA.

This case was investigated by the SSA Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jason White.

The document was originally issued on Jan. 31, but posted on Feb. 1.