A 68-year-old Dalton woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing her granddaughter's Social Security benefits since 2002.
Margie Sue Goad, 68, was appointed in September 2002 as the representative payee for her minor granddaughter's Social Security Survivor's Benefits and Supplemental Security Income.
According to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in the Northern District of Georgia, Goad's granddaughter began receiving survivor's benefits from her deceased father's account in 1994 and SSI in 2001. Goad was required to use those benefits to care for and support her granddaughter, as well as to complete yearly reports that confirmed her granddaughter lived with her.
However, Goad never notified the Social Security Administration that she turned physical and legal custody of her granddaughter over to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in 2002.
Instead, while the child was growing up in foster care and group homes, Goad spent her granddaughter's benefits money on herself, according to the release.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Schulman.
Goad's sentencing is scheduled for July 31, before United States District Judge Robert L. Vining Jr.