Nitro Women Sentenced After Defrauding Social Security

A Nitro woman has been sentenced after federal authorities say she defrauded Social Security by collecting benefits long after her husband had died.

In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says 65-year-old Linda Alford was sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation and was order to pay over $130,000 in restitution.

Officials say Alford previously pleaded guilty to theft of government property last September.

Authorities say Alford was receiving benefits from the Social Security Administration after her husband died in 1990. She remarried in 1997, but didn’t report a change in marital status and continued to collect benefits.

Officials say she collected more than $130,000 illegally in survivor benefits from 1997 through 2014.