BELLE VERNON, Pa. — A Belle Vernon woman has been sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $116,758 in restitution for social security fraud and theft of government property, according to Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
Teresa Sabolek, 68, was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan in federal court. Sabolek was convicted of falsely claiming that her husband did not live with her to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, which she was not eligible for.
In May 2009, Sabolek applied for SSI benefits, claiming her husband did not reside with her in their Belle Vernon home.
In June 2022, Sabolek submitted a signed statement under penalty of perjury, asserting that her husband had not lived with her since her initial application for SSI. However, she also applied for spousal benefits on her husband’s Social Security benefits in 2022.
An SSA clerk discovered a sworn statement from Sabolek’s husband indicating he lived with her, prompting an investigation by the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.
The investigation revealed that Sabolek’s husband had a driver’s license, mailing address, and registered vehicles all linked to the same address where Sabolek claimed to live alone. Agents visiting the home in December 2024 found that the husband indeed lived there and contributed to the mortgage and utilities.
Sabolek received $116,758 in SSI benefits from May 2009 to August 2022, which she was not entitled to due to her husband’s residency.
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