BOSTON — On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, a former Haverhill man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for receiving nearly $88,000 in stolen Social Security disability benefits over a period of more than five years.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Christopher D. Leon, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs to one day in prison, deemed already served, followed by three years of supervised release. Leon was also ordered to pay $87,817 in restitution.
Leon pleaded guilty in June to one count of receiving stolen government money or property after he was initially charged in May.
Federal prosecutors say Leon received approximately $87,817 in stolen Social Security disability benefits from November 2019 through August 2025 that were intended for a woman he had been living with who applied for social security benefits around the time of her death. After she died, the Social Security Administration mailed a notice approving her benefits to Leon’s address. The benefits were then deposited into the deceased woman’s bank account, and prosecutors allege Leon used her debit card to make monthly ATM withdrawals from the improperly paid funds.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, special agent in charge of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s Boston-New York Field Division, announced the sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
