Years long fraud

(AP) — An eastern Missouri man has admitted that he stole almost $200,000 by collecting his mother’s Social Security benefits for 26 years after her death.

Reginald Bagley, 62, of Dellwood, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of stealing money belonging to the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eastern Missouri said in a news release.

Bagley did not report his mother’s death on March 12, 1994, to the Social Security Administration.

Instead, in 1998 he set up a bank account to have her benefits directly deposited.