A 36-year-old woman, whose last known address was in Casper and who admitted to using drugs, will serve nearly two years in federal prison for stealing more than $86,000 in Social Security survivor insurance benefits for the care of her two children following her husband’s death.
While she admits to using illegal drugs, she told a federal agent that she used other money — not the Social Security benefits — to buy them.
Chief U.S. District Judge Kelly H. Rankin sentenced Cassandra Lee Corbin on Thursday in Cheyenne, ordering her to pay restitution for the theft and to serve three years of supervised probation.
Corbin, whose current address is unknown, was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 12 on one count of theft of government money. She pleaded guilty the following month.
Those Benefits
Corbin knowingly failed to report to the Social Security Administration that from November 2020 to May 2023, her children were not in her care, making her ineligible to receive $86,170 in survivor benefits, according to court records.
Corbin’s two children were removed from her home by the Wyoming Department of Family Services on Nov. 4, 2020, said Mark Saari, a special agent with the SSA’s Office of Inspector General, in a sworn statement.
After the removal, the children remained in state foster care until May 2023, when an aunt, who was not identified, obtained legal guardianship and applied to be the children’s Social Security Administration representative payee.
On June 21, 2024, two SSA special agents conducted a voluntary interview with Corbin at America's Best Value Inn in Denver.
The agents asked Corbin if she knew she was required to report to the SSA if her minor children no longer resided with her.
"Yeah, I mean, in my defense on that, this is the God's honest truth, I thought that, since the state did take my children, that the state would probably see that I had Social Security, and so I thought it would have automatically been taken,” Corbin replied to agents, according to Saari.
She Bought Drugs, But Not With That Money
Corbin claimed during the interview that her aunt told her not to worry about the SSA payments as long as she continued to provide support to the children, which she was doing by sending them money each month to buy school items and lunches.
She said her living expenses primarily consisted of rent, which she paid to her boyfriend, as well as assistance with bills for the residence and her own food.
“Corbin stated that although she used drugs, she did not use the money that was intended for the children on drugs,” Saari said.
Social Security fraud has been a hot-button issue for President Donald Trump’s administration.
The SSA’s Office of Inspector General reported there were 332,927 reported allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse in fiscal year 2024. Nearly half of the allegations involved identity theft or the misuse of Social Security numbers.
Additionally, the SSA estimated that between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, it made nearly $72 billion in improper payments, most of which were overpayments.
An overpayment can happen without any intentional wrongdoing by the beneficiary, while fraud requires a deliberate act to deceive the SSA.
When an overpayment happens, the SSA seeks repayment, usually by withholding a portion of future benefits or by taking other actions such as intercepting tax refunds.
