Woman Pleads Guilty to Benefit Fraud

A New Hampshire woman has pleaded guilty to fraud for receiving Social Security, food stamp and disability benefits without reporting she was married until after her husband died.

Prosecutors say 44-year-old Bonita Kitson of Boscawen received the benefits for over two years before she married in 2010. Her husband also received similar benefits before they married. Neither reported the marriage or shared expenses to the government.

Authorities say the marriage wasn't disclosed until 2014, when Kitson advised Social Security that her husband died as part of her application for a lump-sum death benefit. They said the couple fraudulently received over $27,000 in disability benefits and food stamps, and that Kitson received over $1,000 in disability payments to which she wasn't entitled.

Kitson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us