A San Diego woman, Josephine Guinauli Aquino, pleaded guilty in federal court for hiding her father-in-law’s death in the Philippines to illegally collect more than $175,000 in retirement benefits. Aquino, 64, admitted that she did not inform the government or the bank about her father-in-law’s demise, thus these agencies continued to deposit funds in his account until October 2025, reported the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Aquino was aware from the time of her father-in-law’s death that he was receiving monthly benefits from both the Defense Finance Accounting Service and the Social Security Administration, as well as pension checks from the Nestlé Corporation. These benefits, which were to cease upon his death, were instead pocketed by Aquino, who forged at least 150 checks and endorsed and deposited his pension checks using his bank card. In addition to these frauds, Aquino also pocketed three economic impact payments during the COVID-19 pandemic meant for her deceased father-in-law.
“By stealing benefits that did not belong to her, this defendant took money away from other veterans and elderly Americans in need,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, tactfully pointing out the broader impact of such fraudulent actions. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Acting Special Agent-in-Charge John E. Helsing reflected on Aquino’s plea as “an acknowledgement of her six-year fraud scheme” that took a financial toll on American taxpayers and the integrity of government subsidy programs, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office…