RIVERSIDE, CALIF. – A lawyer who illegally cashed her dead grandmother’s Social Security checks plead guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to two counts of theft of government property.
Audrey Owens, 60, of Upland, is now facing up to 20 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.
Owens illegally received more than $129,000 from payments, said federal authorities.
Owens, who is a deputy public defender for Riverside County, pleaded guilty one week before she was scheduled to go to trial.
According to documents, Owens diverted Social Security checks intended for her deceased grandmother from May 2000 when she died until August 2012, federal authorities said.
Owens used the Social Security money to pay bills along with paying for her personal expenses, including contributions to the Riverside Employee Campaign fund, according to officials.
Owens will be sentenced in June.