DETROIT – A Detroit woman is accused of stealing nearly $86,000 in social security benefits using her dead mother's name. She allegedly sent the money to an inmate, paid for a Lyft ride and made other purchases.

Officials learn of mother's death

In early 2018, the Social Security Administration received notice from the Office of Audit that a woman had died Aug. 8, 2009.

SSA officials said they had been unaware of the woman's death, so monthly retirement benefits continued in her name.

The death certificate listed the woman's daughter, Lillie Aurelia Triggs, 50, of Detroit, as the informant, according to authorities.

Benefit payments had been directly deposited into a Comerica Bank Direct Express debit card account, with Triggs' mother listed as the sole account holder, officials said.

The mailing address for the debit card was the same as the address shown on the death certificate, according to officials.

Records show the debit card had been used extensively after the mother's death. It was used for ATM withdrawals, retailer purchases and more, police said.

Officials said Triggs was the billed party. She had addresses in Detroit and Oxford, authorities said.

Triggs interviewed

Triggs was interviewed July 18, 2018, at her home in Detroit, police said.

During the interview, Triggs surrendered the debit card, which had her mother's name printed on the front, according to authorities.

She confirmed her mother's death of Aug. 8, 2009, and said she used the card afterward, officials said.

Triggs admitted she knew using the card was wrong, according to court records. She said she used it to pay bills and withdraw cash at ATMs.

Triggs said from 2017 to 2018 she had frequently checked the card's balance using her phone and had likely used it between 2014 and 2018, according to officials.

At one point, Triggs indicated that her daughter had used the debit card, but she called police after the interview and left a voicemail saying her daughter had no knowledge of the situation, authorities said. Officials said Triggs wanted to clarify that she should take all the responsibility, not her daughter.

Transactions

Officials used bank and transaction records to track how the debit card was used.

In November 2017, $23 was paid to Secure US, a prison telecommunications provider. In that same month, $620 was taken out via ATM withdrawals, according to records.

In January 2018, $823 was taken out in an ATM withdrawal, officials said.

In February 2018, $800 was taken out via ATM withdrawals, according to authorities. Triggs also made a $15.99 purchase at Walmart.com using the debit card, records show.

In March 2018, Triggs paid $11.90 to Lyfy for a round-trip ride from her address, police said.

She made a phone payment of $42.58 for an insurance policy for herself and $38.22 for a policy for her daughter in April 2018, according to authorities.

Police said the Michigan Department of Corrections received a payment of $302.95 from the debit account in May 2018.

In June 2018, Triggs made a $302.95 payment to the same MDOC inmate account, records show. She called the inmate a few days later and confirmed she had given him $300 via his prison account, according to court records.

Authorities said the debit card was queried by phone more than 60 times between February 2017 and February 2018.

Court records estimate Triggs stole $85,906 using the debit card after her mother's death.

Federal investigation

Triggs was alerted in early 2019 that she is the target of a federal investigation, officials said.

Since then, Triggs and a special agent with the SSA have exchanged messages regarding the steps she can take to obtain counsel. She repeatedly indicated she intended to do so, according to authorities.

Triggs told the special agent in June 2019 that she was being represented by a specific attorney, but that attorney told police he is not representing her, court records show.

Authorities haven't been able to contact Triggs since June. She hasn't contacted pretrial services in order to obtain an attorney, officials said.

Triggs is facing charges of theft of government funds and access device fraud.