These are the types of stories that really get people riled up and for good reason. Anytime someone takes advantage of the less fortunate or someone who is vulnerable we wonder how another human being could treat his or her fellow humans like this.
The case of Michigan woman Jill Mae Williams is one of these instances. Williams was sentenced earlier this month to 2-5 years in prison for stealing the Social Security benefits of vulnerable adults who were tenants in the building in which Williams was living. According to the story, where you can find here, Williams arranged for herself to become the payee of up to 10 vulnerable adults living in the building and was using much of the money for her own personal use. There was no definite report as to how much Williams took from these disabled adults who were receiving Social Security disability benefits, but she has been ordered to payback $260,089 to Social Security as part of her sentence. There is no indication as to how and when Williams will pay the money back because it is thought that the majority of money she took is gone.
Not only was Williams accused of taking the Social Security benefits of these 10 disabled people, but also taking the food out of their mouths. She was using the food allowances these disabled people received from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and has been ordered to pay restitution to the tune of more than $25,000.
The judge who accepted Williams’ plea noted that an agent with Social Security informed that Williams admitted to reporting false information and misusing money and had mentioned about visiting casinos.
Unfortunately this is not the first time a payee has misused funds of a disabled person and it won’t be the last, but at least Williams was caught before she could steal any more funds from disabled individuals who desperately need their benefits.
