SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Tijuana woman was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Monday for stealing more than $268,000 from her dead mother's Social Security benefits.
Kimberly Brandt, a U.S. citizen living in Tijuana, pleaded guilty to social security fraud in August 2023 for concealing her mother's death from the Social Security Administration and retrieving retirement benefits on her mother's behalf for 13 years, according to federal prosecutors.
Brandt's mother, identified in court records as H.B., died in Mexico in June 2010. She had been receiving social security benefits via direct deposit into her bank account.
After H.B. died, Brandt didn't inform the SSA of her mother's death and continued to collect the retirement benefits in H.B.'s account.
The 51-year-old woman admitted to impersonating her mother when calling the bank to update H.B.'s address and request a new card under H.B.'s name, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Brandt then asked a third party to bring the card to her in Mexico.
She was arrested in June 2023 when attempting to cross the border, three weeks after the SSA found out about H.B.'s death and stopped paying benefits.
Brandt was ordered to pay $268,143 in restitution to the SSA.
