A federal judge in Benton has sentenced a West Frankfort woman to prison for fraudulently collecting her dead father’s federal employee retirement benefits for 13 years.
In sentencing 40-year-old Alexandra Romanov to 18 months in prison Monday, the judge also ordered her to repay more than $240,000 to the federal Civil Service Retirement System.
Romanov had previously pleaded guilty to the theft of government funds.
Federal prosecutors say Romanov’s father, who was a retired federal employee, died in 1990. Romanov’s mother, who received survivor benefits from her husband’s federal retirement, died in 1994, but Romanov never notified the government of her mother’s death.
Prosecutors say Romanov continued cashing the checks until 2007 be forging her mother’s signature.
Benton, Ill. —
