Woman Who Stole $120,000 Using Dead Mother's Info Gets 15 Years Probation

BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) - A woman convicted of stealing more than $100,000 by using her dead mother's Social Security number will spend the next 15 years on economic crime probation.

Terri Sue Potter was convicted of three counts of felony theft for using her deceased mother's information to steal $120,000 in Social Security payments over a period of 25 years.

Potter, 58, was convicted for taking the money from 1987 to 2012.

Potter's mother, Helen Browning Potter, was born in 1911 and obtained a Social Security card in 1937 when the program began.

The theft was discovered under the Social Security Administration's Centenarian Program in which people who are more than 100 years old are contacted to see if they need additional benefits.

When employees attempted to contact Helen Browning Potter they discovered she died in 1987.