Ohio woman pleads guilty to stealing identity of dead child to avoid pending criminal prosecution

CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati woman pleaded guilty to social security number fraud, where she stole the identity of a dead child to avoid a pending criminal prosecution and receiving thousands of dollars in government benefits.

56-year-old Christina Vaskovsky pleaded guilty to five counts of Social Security number fraud on March 19, 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

She was charged and arrested in November 2023. Court documents show that Vaskovsky was indicted in Hamilton County in July 2008 for allegedly stealing $14,500 from her employer.

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She failed to appear at her trial in December 2008, and 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 her but who died in 1977.

Vaskovsky began using the child’s identity over the span of 13 years in a variety of contexts 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
• Receiving Medicare benefits under the stolen identity totaling more than $116,000.

The plea agreement recommends a sentence of 12 to 30 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Vaskovsky also agreed to 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.

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