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MIAMI---Eight defendants have been indicted in Broward County on charges that they defrauded the Social Security Administration by obtaining and negotiating duplicate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability checks. Six of the eight defendants have been arrested and made their initial appearances in federal court in Miami and Broward.
This investigation, dubbed Operation Double Check Negotiation, identified individuals who had cashed their original SSI disability checks, and had subsequently called to request duplicate checks claiming that they had never received their original checks. The indicted defendants requested duplicate checks on at least five occasions. Defendants Dione Cave, Evellee J. Strong, Michael J. Parrish, Tykeshia Belony, Pamela Blount, Melody Homes, Tosha R. Gore and Ricky were separately charged with making false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims against the government, and with the conversion or theft of government monies.
If convicted, the defendants face maximum statutory penalties of five years' imprisonment as to each count of making false, fictitious and fraudulent claims, and 10 years' imprisonment as to each count of theft of government monies.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office of Southern Florida. 1-26-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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