Woman pleads guilty to cashing dead mother’s Social Security checks for 11+ years

METRO EAST (KMOV) -- A Caseyville woman pleaded guilty Monday to cashing her dead mother’s social security checks since 2009.

Darlene L. Rogers, 72, admitted in court that she cashed more than $128,000 worth of checks that were meant for her mother, who died in 1997. Court documents allege the family never reported the mother’s death to the Social Security Administration.

Prosecutors allege Rogers forged her mother’s signature in 2009 to get ownership of her bank account. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Rogers then used her mother’s checkbook for 12 years to write herself checks that were about the same amount as the monthly Social Security checks.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the Social Security Administration discovered in 2021 that the mother was dead and started an investigation. A total of $128,656 was deposited into the mother’s bank account from October 2009 through April 2021.

Rogers is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23.

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