Lexington woman who got $110,000 of dead mother’s benefits sentenced to prison
A Lexington woman who continued getting her dead mother’s Social Security checks for nearly 13 years has been sentenced to five months in federal prison and ordered to repay $110,503.
The sentence for Stareka N. Howell includes five months on home confinement after her jail term.
Howell, 43, admitted that after her mother died in September 2007, she did not notify the Social Security Administration of her death.
Her mother’s disability checks continued coming until August 2020. The money was put into an account Howell controlled, and Howell took the money, according to a court document.
U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove sentenced Howell on Tuesday.
Bill Estep
Lexington Herald-Leader