On Wednesday, Sophia Quill, 63, of
Westland, was sentenced to 78 months’ to 20 years’ incarceration in state
prison for defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Michigan
Department of Treasury out of nearly half a million dollars, announced Michigan
Attorney General Dana Nessel. Quill pled no contest to one count of Conducting
a Criminal Enterprise and eight counts of False Pretenses in January. She
additionally agreed to a restitution order of $470,000 to the two
agencies.
Sentencing took place in the Third Circuit Court in Wayne County before Judge Anne McCarthy. Quill was given an additional eight prison sentences for the False Pretenses convictions, to be served concurrently, each ranging from 19 months to 15 years.
The attorney general's enforcement operation was conducted in close collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.
Between 2013 and 2019, Quill and co-defendant Melissa Flores defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $430,000 and the Michigan Department of Treasury of more than $40,000. Quill and Flores created aliases and fraudulent documents to make it appear that they were heirs to various deceased benefit-earning U.S. veterans and heirs entitled to unclaimed property from the Michigan Department of Treasury. Additional codefendant Steven Decker, Quill’s adult son, received proceeds from the scheme. Both Flores and Decker have been convicted and sentenced for their roles, and ordered to pay $110,000 and $28,506 in restitution, respectively.
"The codefendants in this case stole hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to fund hard-earned benefits for servicemembers and their rightful heirs,” said Nessel at the time of Quill’s conviction. “My department worked diligently to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs will receive restitution in the resolution of this case and that Quill, the mastermind, receive a significant sentence. I am thankful for the investigative efforts of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.”
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