TAMPA, Fla. — The Department of Justice said Rebecca Stewart Vaughn, 63, of Tampa, has been charged in a fraud scheme where she was accused of concealing a body to continue to get Social Security and pension benefits.
The indictment said Vaughn continued to get benefits paid to her aunt after she died. Vaughn did this by wrapping her body in layers of sheets, blankets, and plastic bags. She then put the body in a mattress bag and put the body in a wooded lot adjacent to a water treatment plant.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said the United States is seeking more than $75,000 in restitution for the criminal conduct.
Vaughn has been indicted on four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count.
Bradenton community responds after 20-year-old volleyball star dies from disease that affects 2 in a million
The 20-year-old IMG Academy volleyball star and Under Armour All-American died Sept. 16 after a three-month battle with the rare blood disorder — even though doctors had found her a 100% bone marrow match, her mother, Tanya Mack tells Tampa Bay 28 reporter Haley Zarcone.
