TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida woman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after prosecutors said she continued collecting Social Security disability payments meant for her adult son for years after he went missing.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, Viviana Barnwell was sentenced Thursday in Tampa in connection with the fraud case.
Prosecutors said Barnwell’s adult son, identified in court records as P.C., had been receiving Social Security disability benefits before he disappeared in 2016. He remains missing, according to the Justice Department.
Authorities said Barnwell reported her son missing to local police, but did not notify the Social Security Administration in a way that stopped the monthly payments. Instead, prosecutors said, the benefit payments continued to be loaded onto his debit card, which Barnwell controlled.
Investigators said she then used the card to withdraw and spend the money for her own benefit.
The total loss to the government was $96,186, according to prosecutors.
Barnwell’s sentence was included in a broader Justice Department announcement highlighting fraud cases around the country involving taxpayer-funded programs, but the Florida case centered on Social Security disability benefits.
Federal authorities have not released new information about the disappearance of Barnwell’s son.
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