MALDEN — A 40-year-old Malden woman was sentenced to a short prison sentence, home confinement and restitution of all the $166,000 she illegally received in federal benefits in U.S. District Court.
Julie Mijal collected more than $166,000 in government benefits by providing false information about her family. She was ordered to serve one month in prison, two years of supervised release, with the first six months to be served in home confinement, and ordered to pay approximately $166,487 in restitution.
In September 2017, Mijal pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of public money and three counts of making false statements.
Although she lived in the same house she co-owned with her child’s father, and even gave that correct address on tax returns, driver’s licenses, and other records they both provided since 2003, Mijal collected $166,000 in federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on behalf of her child by claiming the child’s father did not live with them, according to prosecutors.
Social Security uses the household’s total income to determine whether someone is eligible for SSI benefits. With the father’s income added in, the woman and her family were not eligible for federal benefits under either program.
