A Texas woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison after stealing her father’s Social Security benefits for two decades as she kept his mummified corpse in a storage unit along with his car.
Judith Maria Broughton forged her father’s signature and had more $245,226 of his retirement benefits deposited into a joint banking account, after he died in 1990. His body was rotting in a storage unit she leased in Kentucky until it was discovered in January.
From the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General:
On July 3, 2014, Broughton pleaded guilty to a one count Information charging her with willfully and knowingly stealing Social Security Administration Retirement Insurance Benefits. By pleading guilty, Broughton admitted that she forged her father’s signature causing SSA benefits paid in the name of her father, Luther D. Broughton, to be electronically deposited into a joint checking account. From June 1990 to August 2011, she collected the funds deposited into the account even after his death. Broughton further admitted to converting those monies to her own personal use.
According to court records, Luther Broughton died in June 1990 and the defendant leased a storage unit in Lexington, KY, to conceal his death. A search of the storage unit on January 8, 2014, revealed the mummified remains of Luther D. Broughton as well as his personal belongings including an automobile. Also, the defendant’s mother, Mary Elizabeth Broughton’s, Social Security benefits were being electronically deposited into a joint checking account with the defendant. Mary Elizabeth Broughton’s whereabouts have not been determined and her SSA benefits have been suspended.