‘White Boi’ gets 10 years in prison for $10 million theft of Social Security checks

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, the Social Security Administration's main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md. Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, the chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, a key Republican lawmaker, wants to overhaul the nation's Social Security program, proposing to gradually increase the retirement age for Social Security and slow the growth of benefits for higher-income workers. Johnson introduced legislation just before the end of the congressional session in early December 2016, that he said would "permanently save" Social Security. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, the Social Security Administration's main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md. Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas, the chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, a key Republican lawmaker, wants to overhaul the nation's Social Security program, proposing to gradually increase the retirement age for Social Security and slow the growth of benefits for higher-income workers. Johnson introduced legislation just before the end of the congressional session in early December 2016, that he said would "permanently save" Social Security. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

By Staff Report January 19, 2017 2 min read

The leader of a gang that stole more than $10 million in Social Security checks, tax refunds, veterans benefits and other U.S. Treasury checks will serve a year in federal prison for each million he stole.

Milton “White Boi” Minter was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta in a scheme prosecutors said netted more than 6,000 checks in multiple states, including Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky along with Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan and Minnesota.

“When criminals steal Treasury checks, they victimize senior citizens, the disabled, and veterans who depend on these funds for their well-being,” U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a statement Thursday.

Horn said the checks were stolen from the mail before reaching their intended recipients.

Minton gave them to a crew of people who used fake driver’s licenses or stolen Social Security numbers to cash the checks, mostly at Wal-Mart and Kroger stores.