Modestan gets 18 months for Social Security theft

James Giulio Davidson, 59, of Modesto, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii in Fresno to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $127,000 in restitution for theft of government benefits.

According to court documents, Davidson and his deceased wife and former co-defendant, Shirley Kay Davidson, stole more than $64,000 in Supplemental Security Income benefits and $63,000 in In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) from January 2003 to July 2010.

Shirley Davidson created a fake person named Sharon Guinn to act as her and James Davidson’s purported IHSS caretaker. The Davidsons regularly filled out false time cards for the purported work provided by Sharon Guinn and then cashed the IHSS wages sent to this fake person for their personal use and benefit.

They also did not report the source of income to the Social Security Administration during redetermination interviews for continued SSI benefits. Additionally, the Davidsons told the SSA they separated in November 2007, when in fact they continued to live together, which increased the amount of SSI benefits they received.

This case was the product of an investigation by the SSSA, Office of Inspector General and the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency.

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Modestan gets 18 months for Social Security theft."