Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Deputy Public Defender|Busted in Southern California

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CN) - A deputy public defender in California's Inland Empire was charged Wednesday with stealing $130,000 in Social Security benefits paid to her dead grandmother, federal prosecutors said.

Audrey Owens, 60, of Upland, was charged with theft of government property, a felony, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

After her grandma died in May 2000, Owens changed the address of a joint account they shared and kept accepting her Social Security checks through August 2012, according to the U.S. attorney.

If convicted, Owens faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Categories / Uncategorized

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...