A Rhode Island woman has been sentenced for stealing federal benefits of a person in Massachusetts.
The Justice Department says Lisa Heino of Newport received a two-month prison term and was ordered to pay about 74-thousand dollars in restitution.
US Attorney Rachael Rollins says Heino stole the money provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Office of Personnel Management for a disabled veteran who was in her care.
Officials say even after Heino was removed as conservator in 2017 and representative payee in 2019, she continued to access the victim’s bank account and federal benefits.
When interviewed by authorities, Heino admitted to withdrawing the benefit payments from the victim’s bank account and depositing the funds into her own account for her personal use while serving as conservator and representative payee.
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