Cincinnati woman sentenced to federal prison for Social Security number fraud

Defendant stole identity of deceased child to avoid pending criminal prosecution

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 24 months in prison for committing Social Security number fraud. The defendant stole the identity of a deceased child and used it to avoid a pending criminal prosecution and to obtain thousands of dollars in government benefits.

Christina Vaskovsky, 56, pleaded guilty in March 2024 to five counts of Social Security number fraud. She was charged and arrested in November 2023.

According to court documents, Vaskovsky was indicted in Hamilton County in July 2008 for allegedly stealing $14,500 from her employer. Vaskovsky failed to appear at her trial scheduled in December 2008. A nationwide warrant was issued for her arrest.

In 2010, Vaskovsky obtained a new Ohio driver’s license using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a child who was born the same year as Vaskovsky but who died in 1977 at the age of 10.

The defendant then began using the deceased child’s identity in a variety of contexts over a span of 13 years, including:

• Receiving $19,570 in food stamp benefits;
• Filing bankruptcy to discharge nearly $128,000 in debt;
• Obtaining Social Security disability benefits totaling nearly $39,000;
• Providing the false identity upon being arrested for shoplifting in Kentucky;
• Applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan;
• Receiving more than $11,600 in unemployment benefits;
• Obtaining Supplemental Security Income disability benefits totaling $4,833; and
• Receiving Medicare benefits under the stolen identity totaling more than $116,000.

As part of her sentence, Vaskovsky will pay nearly $191,000 in restitution to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General with assistance from the USDA Office of Inspector General, Ohio BMV Investigations, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Marshals Service. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case.