Fall River Woman Sentenced For Stealing SSI Benefits

A Jamaican woman living in Fall River will be spending the next two years and three months in a federal prison.

Fifty-one year old Sandra McDonald was sentenced Wednesday to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and must pay restitution of almost $300,000 to state and federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the State Supplemental Program, MassHealth, and the Mass. Department of Transitional Assistance.

Prosecutors say McDonald, who arrived in the U.S. in 1990, used her sister's identity to enter the country and illegally receive $297,709 in government benefits.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, McDonald used five other identities to obtain driver's licenses, passports, and to open bank accounts.

McDonald pleaded guilty in September. The sentence was handed down by federal Judge Denise Casper.