RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A federal judge gave a Rapid City woman five years' probation for stealing about $55,000 in veterans' benefits over six years.
Court documents say a neighbor to Patricia Maki, 69, had been getting the benefits, and Maki kept them going after the woman died in 2004.
Testimony at Maki's trial indicated she conspired with the woman's son to keep her bank account active.
When the son died in 2008, Maki changed the address on the benefits account and used the woman's ATM card to withdraw money.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken ordered Maki to pay almost $55,000 in restitution and put her on probation for five years.
Maki was convicted of the fraud in April.
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