JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Attorneys Office says it is charging a 63-year-old Jacksonville woman with stealing nearly $400,000 in benefits over 35 years.
Officials have charged Gail Starks of Jacksonville by federal indictment with theft of government money or property and making a false statement to a federal agency.
If convicted on all counts, Starks faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison, according to a news release from the office.
The government is also seeking Starks’ forfeiture of $397,120, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said.
An indictment said that from June 1991 through August 2026, Starks received Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits for spousal support from the Department of Veterans Affairs to which she was not entitled.
Additionally, in August, Starks told investigators she was not married, when, in fact, she was married.
The news release noted that the charges follow the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement in April of the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.
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